Meyer's Bestattungswesen

Meyer's Bestattungswesen is a funeral services company based in Hannover, Germany, and one of the oldest businesses in the Lower Saxony state capital. Its origins lie in a transport and carriage company founded in 1851 by Matthias Heinrich Meyer, known as Heinrich Meyer, in the then royal residence city of the Kingdom of Hannover. The firm began as a haulage and passenger-transport operation, running carriages and later horse-drawn omnibuses, and it built a reputation for reliability — including carrying out the regular gold transports for the court banker Israel Simon between Hannover and Leipzig. During the 19th century a funeral division was added as a second business pillar, and it was steadily expanded after Ernst Heinrich Meyer took over his father's operation from 1887. Across the 20th century the company passed through the generations of the Meyer family and their descendants. Richard Meyer, the third generation, took over in 1919 and put Hannover's first motorised hearse into service on 1 May 1920. The business premises at Kleine Aegidienstraße 4 were repeatedly destroyed in the air raids on Hannover in 1943, and in 1945 the firm relocated to its present address at Dieterichsstraße 34. Ludwig Berger, the founder's son-in-law, helped with the post-war rebuilding and took over management in 1951; as late as 1959 the company was still listed in the Hannover address book as Meyer's Bestattungs- und Fuhrwesen (funeral and haulage services). Bernd Berger, born in Hannover in 1956 into a family of undertakers, joined the firm in 1979 after his Abitur and training as an insurance salesman, and qualified as a Fachgeprüfter Bestatter (certified undertaker). He became owner in 1991, taking over the family business in the fifth generation, and in 1996 received the transfer licence to carry the professional seal of the Bundesverband des Deutschen Bestattungsgewerbes (Federal Association of the German Funeral Trade). In 2009 the company was certified for the first time following an audit by TÜV Rheinland, a certification that was extended in 2018 through 2021. Today Meyer's Bestattungswesen presents itself as a competent, discreet and personal funeral home serving grieving families in Hannover and the surrounding region. Its stated corporate philosophy emphasises dignified treatment of the deceased and individual, personal care of the bereaved, realised through personal consultations and round-the-clock availability, including at the family's own home. Its range of services covers conventional funerals as well as unusual and personalised burial forms, with funeral ceremonies arranged according to the wishes of the relatives and within an appropriate financial framework.

Meyer's Bestattungswesen traces its origins to 1851, when Matthias Heinrich Meyer — commonly known as Heinrich Meyer — founded a transport business in the royal residence city of the Kingdom of Hannover. Its first premises were the Braunsche Haus on Osterstraße and the nearby building of the former haulage contractor Schild at Osterstraße 75, where the Meyers were still recorded in 1858 as 'Miethkutscher' (hackney coachman) and 'Fuhrmann' (carter). In 1859 Heinrich Meyer acquired plots belonging to the senior court judge von Werlhof at the then Braunschweigerstraße 9 and Kleine Aegidienstraße 4, in the area of the former Aegidienneustadt, to build a new company headquarters. The founder cultivated good relations with the Hannover court, and members of the high nobility were among the first to choose 'Meyer's Landauer' carriages to be driven to destinations such as the Leineschloss or the opera house. Meyer quickly deployed dozens of additional teams with up to 80 draught horses to meet demand. In urban traffic he also operated horse-drawn omnibuses on routes not served by the Hannover horse tramway. The firm, regarded as solid and reliable, additionally carried out the gold transports for the court banker Israel Simon from Hannover to Leipzig every two weeks; despite the valuable cargo, these transports were never attacked or robbed. Still in the 19th century, funeral services were added to the company as a further economic pillar, and this line was steadily expanded after Ernst Heinrich Meyer took over his father's business from 1887. After the First World War, his son Richard Meyer took over the business in the third generation in 1919. On 1 May 1920 he placed the first motorised hearse in the city of Hannover into service, followed soon afterwards by further automobiles for transport purposes. During the air raids on Hannover in the Second World War, the business premises at Kleine Aegidienstraße 4 were repeatedly bombed out in 1943. In 1945 the company moved its headquarters to its present premises at Dieterichsstraße 34. Meyer's son-in-law Ludwig Berger helped with the rebuilding, and in the post-war period in Germany he took over management in 1951. As late as 1959 the company was still listed in the address book of the state capital Hannover as Meyer's Bestattungs- und Fuhrwesen (funeral and haulage services). Bernd Berger, the current owner of the Meyer firm, was born in Hannover in 1956 as the son of a family of undertakers. After his Abitur and training as an insurance salesman, he joined the parental business in 1979. He went on to train as a Fachgeprüfter Bestatter (certified undertaker). In 1991 he became owner of the firm, and in 1996 he received the transfer licence to carry the professional seal of the Bundesverband des Deutschen Bestattungsgewerbes (Federal Association of the German Funeral Trade). In 2009 the company was certified for the first time following an audit by TÜV Rheinland, a certification that was extended in 2018 through 2021. According to its own account, the firm has accompanied grieving relatives through the hardest hours of farewell for five generations. Its philosophy includes offering qualified help in the family's own personal environment through continuous round-the-clock readiness. Its broad range of services also encompasses unusual burial forms and realises personal wishes for the design of the funeral ceremony. The company describes its guiding principle as a dignified approach to the deceased and personal, individual care of relatives through commitment and competence, with funerals realised according to the wishes of the bereaved while maintaining an appropriate financial framework.

• 2018

  TÜV Rheinland certification extended through 2021.

• 2009

  First certification following an audit by TÜV Rheinland.

• 1996

  Receives the transfer licence to carry the professional seal of the Bundesverband des Deutschen Bestattungsgewerbes.

• 1991

  Bernd Berger becomes owner and managing director in the fifth generation.

• 1979

  Bernd Berger joins the family firm.

• 1959

  Still listed in the Hannover address book as Meyer's Bestattungs- und Fuhrwesen.

• 1951

  Ludwig Berger takes over management during the post-war rebuilding.

• 1945

  The company moves to its present premises at Dieterichsstraße 34.

• 1943

  Business premises at Kleine Aegidienstraße 4 are repeatedly bombed out during air raids on Hannover.

• 1920

  On 1 May, the first motorised hearse in Hannover is placed into service.

• 1919

  Richard Meyer takes over the business in the third generation.

• 1887

  Ernst Heinrich Meyer takes over his father's business and expands the funeral division.

• 1859

  Heinrich Meyer acquires plots at Braunschweigerstraße 9 and Kleine Aegidienstraße 4 for a new company headquarters.

• 1851

  Matthias Heinrich Meyer founds a transport business in Hannover.

A traditional, family-run funeral home in Hannover emphasising dignity, discretion, personal care and five generations of experience.

• Funeral services

  Full funeral arrangement and organisation according to the wishes of the bereaved.

• Burial and cremation

  Conventional and unusual burial forms, including personalised ceremonies.

• Hearse and transfer services

  Motorised transfer of the deceased, a service the firm pioneered in Hannover in 1920.

• 24-hour availability and home visits

  Round-the-clock readiness and personal consultations at the family's home.

1. 1Startseite - Meyer's Bestattungswesenmeyers-bestattungswesen.de
2. 2Wir über uns - Meyer's Bestattungswesenmeyers-bestattungswesen.de
3. 3Meyer’s Bestattungswesen – Wikipediade.wikipedia.org
4. 4Meyer's Bestattungswesen – Wikidatawikidata.org