I saw this photograph tonight. It is of the graves of a Catholic woman and her Protestant husband, in Holland, 1888. They were not allowed to be buried together because of their different religious affiliations.
It leaves me with mixed emotions. I marvelled at the ingenuity of the stone hands, joined together across the brick divide and thus overcoming man’s pedantic rules.
But also anger that this couple couldn’t be laid to rest together in the same grave. For, if a man and wife could live together (presumably) in peace despite belonging to different denominations of faith, why should such ecumenical harmony be denied them in death?
What do you guys think?
City Jackdaw 
For 1888, this couple let love and creativity reach over prejudice!
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Yes. A lesson we can still learn in the twenty first century.
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Incredible…I wonder what person or institution designed their handclasping headstones? And also whose idea it was to create them? Their kids? And where this was? Oh Andy you always present the most intriguing photos.
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I seem to attract photographs like these. I come across them in my day to day, and then feel the urge to share them with you all.
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Love the joined hands. But I’m also angry that they couldn’t be buried together.
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Yes-I felt both emotions too.
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That’s a tricky part of religions. The interpretation of the religious rules. Are the religious speakers and judges really the ones to be say if love is alright or not? Who are they to decide how to interpret religion? As you say Love conquers all. That’s very true. Love goes far beyond religion, life and anything else. Love even conquer time. Maybe that’s why so many religious people who taken the right to interpret religions are so afraid of freedom of love. Beautiful symbolic action. They actually speak from their graves. They outlive the ones who didn’t let them get their last will through 🙂
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Well put. And yes-their message resonates down to us all these years later.
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