Episode 8: The Bleikeller Mummies

Ii-wey! I occasionally visit the Altas Obscura website because it has an entire category dedicated to “Catacombs, Crypts & Cemeteries.” While I was catching up on recent stories, I came across an intriguing story spotlighting Bremen, Germany where tourists can view mummified remains (click here to see photos and the article) at St. Peter’s Cathedral.

Our story began around the year 1698 when an organ maker was working in a crypt under the nave of the cathedral and found eight mummies. Lead was stored in the chamber, lending to its name, Bleikeller, or lead cellar. For some time, there was speculation that the lead may have had something to do with the occurrence of the mummified bodies, but that has not been proven. Rather it was probably the dry air in the cellar that arrested the process of decay and “dried” the bodies. 

The discovery of the mummies caused a bit of a sensation. According to a Google translated German Wiki page about Bleikeller, approximately 10 years after the discovery, the cathedral’s carpenter handed in his key because he could not get his work done due to the influx of visitors! Paying tourists continued to come see the mummies. In the early 1800s, the famous residents were moved to another part of the cathedral and then moved again to another building in 1984, which has been their home since. 

Based on the few photos available, it appears the mummies were propped up in their respective coffins as if they were reclining in lounge chairs to watch television. However, in 1968, their coffins were outfitted with glass to protect them as little bits of the mummies had gone missing over the centuries – probably tourists who helped themselves to small souvenirs. 

Who were the eight mummies? The German Wiki page mentions: the last Swedish administrator of the cathedral, Lord Georg Bernhard von Engelbrechton and his wife; a Colonel Gregory von Winsen and an unidentified soldier or mercenary; a woman thought to be Lady Stanhope; and a roofer, who upon being x-rayed, a bullet hole was found in his back. So, the roofer may actually be a soldier as well. A more recent addition was day laborer Konrad Ehlers, who received free lodging on the condition that he consented to being “buried” in the cellar as a mummification experiment. This practice was outlawed by Napoleon in 1811, so the experiments continued, but with animals, explaining the presence of a mummified monkey and cat amongst the human mummies on display. 

Photo credit, from Instagram: @biltzbirnebremen

Senebti!