Buter Cemetery - Nieuw-Schoonebeek

Buter Cemetery is a small, historic emergency graveyard located along the Europaweg near Nieuw-Schoonebeek. It was established in 1825, when residents were no longer allowed to bury their dead in Twist after a border treaty between the Netherlands and Hanover. The land, once part of an old “boo” belonging to the Wenny family, was donated by Jan Berend Borg.

Until around 1855, eighteen people were buried here, ranging from young children to the elderly. Since the site was meant as a temporary solution, the graves were never marked with stones or monuments. That’s why the cemetery still appears modest and quiet, surrounded by simple plants and a wooden fence.

After closure, the cemetery fell into neglect but was restored in the 1970s and again in 2022. It now features information boards and a carefully redefined border. Official records mention only the 19th-century names found in local archives, but it’s believed that victims of the plague may also be buried here.

Precisely because of the lack of headstones, the understated landscape and the unique history as an emergency graveyard, Buter Cemetery is today a quiet yet powerful place of remembrance in the border region of Drenthe.