Burial plots in Croatia: A scarce and pricey commodity

Croatia

Burial plots have become highly sought-after properties in Croatia, with some people willing to pay any price for them.

Many plot holders, aware of the high demand, sometimes ask for exorbitant amounts to sell them. More precisely, they lease them out, N1 reported.

Burial plots are typically located on land owned by local authorities in Croatia and cannot be sold outright. Instead, they can only be leased to another person through a notarised contract.

Individuals can only be users of the burial plots and owners of the gravestone, which includes the headstone, monument, and grave enclosure.

“More Living People Than Dead in the Cemetery”

Vedrana from Zagreb shared a story about her father, whose identity she chose to keep private. A few years ago, he returned from Germany, where he had worked for decades, to his hometown near a small city in central Croatia.

“He had some savings. He had already built a house, and the first thing he wanted to do upon his return was to secure a tomb for himself and my mother so that we, their children, wouldn’t have to worry about it.

However, it turned out that there were no more burial plots available in the local cemetery, as people had already bought them all. And these were all living people, like my parents. More than half of the cemetery was occupied by empty tombs.

There were more living people than dead in the cemetery, so to speak. They had engraved their names, placed their photos on the headstones, and were waiting to die,” she told N1.

When Can a Burial Plot Be Leased?

The municipal company from the nearby city, which maintains and oversees the village cemetery, couldn’t accommodate her parents. They could only guarantee, as required by law, that they would provide a burial spot once they passed away.

“My father offered to buy burial plots from some people, but no one was willing. Everyone had invested a lot in preparing their burial plots. Eventually, he managed to find a tomb in the nearby city. He bought it from some people for 2,000 euros. I think he paid too much. It wasn’t a real purchase, like buying a flat or a house, but rather a leasing agreement,” Vedrana explained.

According to regulations, which are mostly the same for all cemeteries in Croatia, a user can lease a burial plot if they have another plot in use within the same city or municipality, if multiple users have the right to use the plot being leased, or if the user does not have a registered residence in that city or municipality.

Prices of Burial Plots in Zagreb

In Zagreb, according to the current price list of the City Cemeteries’ market services, the most expensive burial plots are at the main and largest cemetery, Mirogoj.

The highest prices are in Zone I, specifically in the Great Arcade or the chapel, at 12,276 euros including VAT, while the cheapest are in Zone VI at 1,866 euros.

Mirogoj (Photo: Victor Juric)

A burial plot for installing a cassette costs 613 euros, and a spot in the columbarium niche is 920 euros. Allocating a burial plot before the need for burial costs 1,244 euros.

At Zagreb’s Miroševac cemetery, burial plots range from 1,244 to 2,488 euros, depending on the zone. At the third large Zagreb cemetery, Markovo Polje, the prices of burial plots range from 331 to 1,244 euros.

Most Expensive Graves in the Listings – 80,000 Euros

On the largest domestic online classifieds, several hundred burial plots and tombs are listed across Croatia.

The most expensive one we found was on Njuškalo, located at Boninovo, the city cemetery in Dubrovnik, priced at 80,000 euros.

Mirogoj cemetery (photo: Marko Vrdoljak/Zagreb Tourist Board)

Several burial plots in attractive locations at Zagreb’s Mirogoj are listed for prices between 50,000 and 75,000 euros.

In Rijeka, at the city cemeteries Kozala and Trsat, a few tombs are offered for around 30,000 euros. Most burial plots listed on online classifieds range from 5,000 to 15,000 euros.

They are mainly sold in Zagreb (Mirogoj or Miroševac), Rijeka, Split’s Lovrinac, Varaždin, and Samobor. In Osijek, they are mostly cheaper, between 1,000 and 3,000 euros (although some burial plots exceed 10,000 euros), while in smaller towns, burial plots are offered, or rather leased, for 300, 400, or 500 euros.