Herent (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Herent joined the Digital Cemetery project, part of the Flemish government plan, mapping 4 cemeteries online in 2025, said Alderman Maarten Forceville (CD&+), improving public access online.
As VRT News reported, residents and visitors in Herent, in the province of Flemish Brabant, Belgium, can now find graves through the new Digital Cemetery website. The online map shows all graves in the 4 cemeteries of the municipality. It can be used on a phone, tablet, or computer.
Officials mentioned that by typing a name in the search bar, users can quickly see where someone is buried. The map also works in reverse; clicking on a grave reveals the name and details of the deceased.
How is Herent making its cemeteries digital in 2025?
Alderman for Civil Affairs Maarten Forceville (CD&+) said the Digital Cemetery combines technology with remembrance. He noted that the platform makes it easier to find graves and helps keep burial records safe for the future.
“Now you can find someone’s grave in the cemetery with just a few clicks of the mouse.”
Maarten Forceville, Alderman for Civil Affairs in Herent (CD8V+)
Alderman for Civil Affairs Maarten Forceville (CD&+) said,
“We want to make everything clear and transparent.”
In the past, people often had to search for a long time before finding a specific grave. Now, they can find the exact place within seconds by using a phone or computer.
The municipality plans to add more options to the website in the future. He mentioned that one of the next updates will include photos of the graves, so users can recognise the exact site when searching online. There are also plans to place an information column at the entrance of each cemetery, where visitors can look up names and find directions to the graves.
The Digital Cemetery project started in 2018 under the Flemish government’s digital plan to make public information easier to access. The first local tests began in 2019, when several towns created online maps of their cemeteries.
The system allowed people to search for graves by name and view their exact location on a map. Over time, more municipalities joined the program, and by 2023, the service had spread across many parts of Flanders.
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