The short answer: for an anonymous urn interment the twelve NRW cities we serve charge between 758.17 € (Wuppertal) and 2,504.00 € (Duisburg) in municipal fees – more than a threefold difference for the same type of grave. Every figure below comes from the city's own official fee statute.
These fees go to the city, not to a funeral director. When comparing offers you must know whether they are included or added on top. A "package price" without that information cannot be compared.
Municipal fees for the anonymous urn interment
| City | Municipal fees | Cremation included | Valid from | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wuppertal | 758,17 € | no | 01.01.2026 | Stadtrecht 3.71, Ziffern 1.5 und 2.5 |
| Dortmund | 820,00 € | yes | 07.03.2026 | Gebührentarif Ziffer 3.3 |
| Mönchengladbach | 977,00 € | no | 13.12.2024 | Friedhofsgebührensatzung der mags |
| Oberhausen | 1.211,00 € | no | 02.04.2026 | Friedhofsgebührensatzung 2026, Grabart „Anonym Urne“ |
| Bochum | 1.465,00 € | no | 01.01.2026 | Friedhofsgebührensatzung Tarif-Nr. 1.6 |
| Essen | 1.595,00 € | yes | 01.03.2024 | Satzung SR 704 |
| Köln | 1.712,00 € | no | 06.07.2023 | Friedhofsgebührensatzung, Ziffern 1.4 und 2.2.4 |
| Bonn | 2.210,86 € | no | 01.04.2026 | Gebührenordnung 68-1-1, Ziffern 1.1.1.1, 1.13.1 und 2.2.2 |
| Krefeld | 2.391,00 € | no | 01.01.2026 | Gebührentarif des Kommunalbetriebs Krefeld AöR |
| Düsseldorf | 2.482,13 € | yes | 01.01.2026 | Gebührentarif 68-203-1, Ziffern 3.2.1 und 7.1.2 |
| Duisburg | 2.504,00 € | yes | 01.01.2026 | Friedhofsgebührensatzung der Wirtschaftsbetriebe Duisburg |
| Gelsenkirchen | on request | – | – | – |
Checked on 30.08.2026. Machine-readable as CSV.
Why the differences are so large
Cemetery fees are municipal charges. Each city calculates them from its own costs: land values, staff, maintenance of the communal areas, occupancy. The term of use also differs – Bonn charges for 15 years, Dortmund and Düsseldorf for 20, Essen for 25. A higher figure may simply cover a longer period.
Method and sources
The basis is exclusively the official fee statute of the respective city or its cemetery operator. Portals and funeral directors' offers were not used. Each row links to the original document and names the tariff item, so the figure can be verified. Two figures are older: Cologne (version of 06.07.2023) and Essen (01.03.2024); no newer version was publicly available. For Gelsenkirchen the tariff was not accessible.
