Aspecte financiare ale cremaţiunii în România interbelică
Financial Aspects of Cremation in Interwar Romania

Summary/Abstract: The opening of “Cenușa” Crematorium in Bucharest on January 25th, 1928 represented the apex of the cremation movement in the interwar Romania, which became the first country in this part Europe to open a crematorium, and the first Orthodox country to accept incineration. Although Russia also had an Orthodox population, the Soviet case is totally different from the Romanian case. This achievement was possible thanks to the efforts of “Cenușa”, the Romanian cremation society, founded on March 7, 1923, and also to the Municipality of Bucharest. This article aims to analyze the financial aspects of cremation in interwar Romania. We investigated the financial situation of “Cenușa”, the Romanian cremation society (the crematorium’s owner), financial support given by the Bucharest City Hall for building and maintenance of the crematorium, and the costs of incineration. The cost of cremation is analyzed compared to the cost of burial of the time, aiming to elucidate to what extent cremation was a viable alternative in interwar Romania.

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