Chernivtsi uses gravestones to repair public staircase, media report

The staircase in Chernivtsi repaired with slabs removed from gravestones. Photo: Yana Brus

In the Ukrainian city of Chernivtsi, steps in Philharmonic Square have been repaired with granite slabs removed from cemetery gravestones, according to the local outlet Promin.

The issue was brought to public attention by city council member Yana Brus, who shared photos on social media. According to her, the repair project cost the city budget about 190,000 hryvnias. Some of the granite slabs still bore engraved fragments of photographs of the deceased, which had not even been polished off before being installed.

“How could anyone come up with a scheme like this – using granite from a cemetery? How greedy do you have to be to use granite taken from a graveyard instead of new stone, especially in Philharmonic Square on a street that has just been renovated?” the council member said.

Brus later reported that the engraved images were hastily ground off the slabs during the night.

As the UOJ previously reported, unknown vandals desecrated an Armenian church cemetery in Istanbul.

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