Grave digging in Riga: depth, timing and procedure

Grave digging is one of those funeral tasks a family rarely thinks about until the date has to be agreed. It then turns out that neither the depth, nor the dimensions, nor even the day on which the work may be carried out are matters of free choice: all of it is set by Riga City Council's binding regulations. This article sets out how grave digging works in practice, which deadlines apply and who is responsible for what.

Riga City Funeral Service carries out grave digging both as a separate service and as part of a full funeral arrangement. The family does not have to deal with the cemetery keeper itself. Advice around the clock: +371 2208 4540

How deep a grave is dug in Riga

The depth is not the same in every case, and this is the most frequent question:

• An ordinary coffin burial — 1.5 m to the lid of the coffin.
• A further burial in an existing plot — between 0.7 and 1.2 m. This is exactly why a further burial is physically possible only where the earlier burial was made at sufficient depth; the keeper checks this before granting permission.
• An urn — not less than 1 m deep.

The area of the grave follows from the type of plot: a single plot in Riga is 1.75 × 3 m, a double plot 2.5 × 3 m, a triple plot 3 × 3 m and a four-place plot 4 × 3 m. These dimensions are set in Annex 2 to the regulations, and they mean something practical — a grave is not dug by eye, its size follows from the plot the family has been allocated. The full table of sizes is on the cemeteries page.

Timing: what has to be done when

The deadline everything turns on is the notice to the cemetery keeper. The keeper is informed of a burial no later than 48 hours in advance and of the placing of an urn 24 hours in advance. The rest of the schedule follows from that:

Two points about timing. First, professional work at a cemetery may be carried out only during the working hours of the cemetery administration, and vehicles may enter the grounds only during opening hours — so a grave cannot be dug on a Sunday evening, however urgent the need. Second, keepers receive from Tuesday to Saturday from 8.30 to 16.00, closed on Mondays, and this has to be allowed for when arranging approval.

How the work proceeds at the plot

1. The keeper indicates the exact position of the grave within the plot and confirms the agreed time.
2. The team prepares the site: lifting the surface and, where necessary, temporarily removing the kerb or moving a memorial so that it is not damaged.
3. The grave is dug to the required depth and dimensions; the excavated soil is set beside it and covered so that it does not spill onto neighbouring plots.
4. The edges of the grave are secured and dressed, so that during the ceremony the place looks cared for and is safe.
5. After the ceremony the grave is filled, the mound formed, the surface levelled and the wreaths and flowers placed.
6. Waste from the work is removed and the access path tidied — the plot is left as the family will see it on their next visit.

In winter the work takes longer: frozen ground is slower to dig, and this is allowed for when the time of the funeral is planned.

Cost and what the price covers

Grave digging in Riga is a paid service, as are use of the chapel and grave care. In this it differs from the allocation of the plot itself: Riga municipality makes no charge for granting a plot, following the Constitutional Court judgment of 5 March 2019. For a family the practical conclusion is one: the plot costs nothing, the work at it does, and it is that work which has to be budgeted for.

The price is set by the scope of the work: the depth, the size of the plot, the condition of the ground and whether a kerb or memorial has to be removed. A further burial and a burial in a new plot differ in the work involved. We name the exact figure once the cemetery and the plot are known, and part of the cost is covered by the funeral benefit.

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Frequently asked questions