Bauska municipality continues cemetery digitalization, but some sites still await their turn
Bauska municipality is preparing a new project application to digitalize cemeteries in line with Latvia's new Cemetery Law, though 27 cemeteries in the Vecumnieki area remain undigitalized. Experience from Iecava's Sils cemetery shows both the benefits and practical challenges of the process.
On August 27, the Bauska municipal council is set to decide on a project application titled "Digitalization of Cemeteries in Bauska Municipality," to be submitted to the LEADER program by September 2. Project manager Ineta Bramane said funding per project is 50,000 euros, with co-financing support of up to 90 percent. Of the municipality's 143 cemeteries, 131 fall under municipal responsibility, and data for 98 of them has already been digitalized. The new project would cover an additional 24 cemeteries, both open and closed.
Latvia's new Cemetery Law requires municipalities to establish an electronic burial register by April 2030, with historical records to be included by April 2033. In the Bauska and Rundāle areas, all listed cemeteries have already been digitalized, and in Iecava all those managed by the local administration. In the Vecumnieki area, however, 27 open cemeteries still need to be digitalized.
Practical experience in Iecava
At Iecava's Sils cemetery, managed by SIA "Bauskas komunālserviss," digitalization began even before Latvia's administrative-territorial reform. Cemetery keepers Sarmīte Dzeguze and Rita Sisene say verifying and completing the data took more than six months, cross-checking old cemetery registers with death records. Digitalization makes it easier to locate graves and prepare for funerals, but does not solve every issue — including what to do with dismantled monuments and curbs, residents' lack of responsibility for upkeep, and limited resources.
Demographics and future challenges
In 2025, Bauska municipality registered 216 births and 612 deaths — nearly three times more deaths than births. Still, a shortage of burial plots is not currently critical, aided by reburials in existing plots and cremation. A long-discussed plan for a columbarium at Sils cemetery has not moved forward, even though urn burials already take place there.
