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Makar Artemev<\/p>\nMakar Artemev<\/p>\n
Since the Neolithic Age, humans have left stones at burial sites. As an enduring and weather-resistant material, everything from pebbles to megaliths have been used as grave markers. Tombstones as we think of them today \u2013 carved with names, birthdates, deathdates, a message of remembrance \u2013 date back as far as 3000 BC. When we walk through a cemetery (of which Berlin has 228) and scan the names of strangers, we rarely think about the person who carved those names in stone. The artistry behind burial rituals is often lost in grief. But for someone like Ratak, a 29-year-old stone carving apprentice, an appreciation of the craft is exactly why he would visit a cemetery in the first place.<\/p>\n
I had no idea one could get so creative with tombstone design.<\/p>\n
It was the search for a vocation that led Ratak to the stone carving trade. \u201cI was always drawn to the artistic side of design, handmade visuals and typography, with minimal involvement of computers,\u201d he tells us. After studying graphic design in France and writing a thesis on the evolution of handwriting, he was pulled to Berlin by the experimental and avant-garde design scene. What he found was tombstones. \u201cTwo years ago, I visited a cemetery in Berlin, and was stricken: it was so different from the French ones with their conservative lines of crosses, so conceptual, bold. I had no idea one could get so creative with tombstone design.\u201d While Ratak had always been fascinated by the design element of cemeteries, it had never been his intention to work so closely with one. But it was in a Berlin cemetery that his vocation arrived, sudden and unexpected: \u201cRight there, I had an epiphany \u2013 that\u2019s exactly what I want to do!\u201d<\/p>\n
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Yara Ryabova<\/p>\n
Once he had the vocation, Ratak only needed the venture. Turns out, there was a stone carving workshop beside the cemetery offering just that. He walked inside and simply said, \u201cI want to learn how you guys do what you do.\u201d On the spot, the workshop offered Ratak a two-month internship in tombstone sculpting, which he\u2019s just finished. Now he works as an assistant and plans to start a full-time Ausbildung soon. That walk through a cemetery one day changed the course of Ratak\u2019s life and career. \u201cIt confirmed I was in the right place,\u201d he tells us.<\/p>\n
The workshop in Tempelhof-Sch\u00f6neberg that Ratak walked into that fateful day is called Scherhag Steinmetz. It\u2019s been around since 1894 and is the second-oldest stone carving workshop in Berlin, according to its director, Marcus Karnatz. They do far more than carve tombstones, which only makes up 60% of business. As Marcus reveals, \u201c30% are orders for construction elements: stairs, bathrooms, kitchens, facades, fireplaces, tables. And the remaining 10% are historical restorations.\u201d In fact, the scope of work is comprehensive, ranging from rough work that requires physical force, to delicate carving that requires artistic skills, to construction that requires precise measurement and patience. \u201cMost stone carvers are prone to either one or another and specialise in it,\u201d Marcus explains.<\/p>\n
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Yara Ryabova<\/p>\n
To become a full-time employee at Scherhag, Ratak \u2013 and other candidates \u2013 must complete formal stone mason training (Steinmetzausbildung). It\u2019s a dual programme, according to Berlin\u2019s Masonry Guild, of which Scherhag is a member. This means the course consists of practical learning at a workshop and theory at a school. Four official schools in Germany \u2013 one in Lower Saxony, one in Rhineland-Palatinate and two in Bavaria \u2013 offer a full-round education in stone masonry, covering all aspects of the craft. Depending on the school, a student can study the theory in one go over several months, or study the theory one day a week while working the rest. The programme lasts for three years. Trainees are compensated by the workshop that provides the training in accordance with professional rates: \u20ac925, \u20ac1,025 and \u20ac1,175 a month for each consecutive year of training. A trainee can additionally apply for BAF\u00f6G, the German state scholarship, or a rental subsidy.<\/p>\n
In the programme you can choose one of two directions: stone masonry or sculpture. Marcus takes students in both areas. This year, there are about five people in Berlin undergoing the training. \u201cIt\u2019s a big commitment for a workshop,\u201d Marcus tells us. \u201cYou\u2019re investing not only money, but also the time of the employees who have to teach the trainees. That being said, a workshop would gladly provide a spot to a person with true interest and discipline. It\u2019s a long-term investment.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/000019-scaled.jpg\")
Yara Ryabova<\/p>\n
Marcus himself studied at an educational centre in Berlin that\u2019s now closed. During his 22 years at Scherhag, he\u2019s been the director for the past four. \u201cWe don\u2019t really do advertising \u2013 we actually have orders on a waiting list. Traditionally, stone masonries even have a signature. For special orders, we carve our name on the side, like sculptors do.\u201d Instead of advertising, Scherhag depends upon existing networks: recommendations or returning clients. For tombstones, they cooperate with funeral homes. Family members who used their services in the past will also likely return again and again. \u201cWe take existing tombstones to carve a new name on them if another family member dies and wishes to be buried in the same place,\u201d Marcus explains. \u201cSome families are clients for generations. Some who ordered tombstones before would return to order a fix on a fireplace.\u201d<\/p>\n
Reconciling with death is a part of our work.<\/p>\n
One thing someone like Ratak also has to reckon with before choosing the stone carving profession is the emotional element. For such a tough, hands-on trade, it\u2019s permeated by one of life\u2019s most sensitive subjects: death. \u201cYou\u2019re dealing with human stories,\u201d says Marcus. \u201cUnfortunately, people don\u2019t always die at an expected biological age.\u201d The stone carvers at Scherhag have had to carve tombstones for children, communicating with grieving parents about the details. \u201cYou can imagine how it feels,\u201d Marcus says, leaving us to envision the brutal pain of it for ourselves. \u201cReconciling with death is a part of our work.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Yara Ryabova<\/p>\n
In terms of making a living, a stone carver in Berlin can count on earning somewhere between \u20ac29,000 and \u20ac40,000 a year before tax, according to Stepstone. Scherhag pays \u20ac17.34 per hour. \u201cOne\u2019s earnings depend largely on their productivity and enthusiasm,\u201d says Marcus. If a stone carver studies for a Meister (a further three years of education), gets promoted to a managerial role or opens their own business, the compensation increases accordingly. Perhaps it\u2019s for this reason that there\u2019s low employee fluctuation within the profession. At least there used to be. \u201cWe have two technical pensioners \u2013 one is 71 and the other one is 74 \u2013 who are still working,\u201d Marcus tells us, \u201cand they both started when they were 16 or 17. Another colleague who started at 16 is going to retire in two years.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/000013-scaled.jpg\")
Yara Ryabova<\/p>\n
For someone who has been in the game as long as Marcus, it\u2019s easy to notice patterns in employment. For example, the past few years have seen an influx of apprentices in their late 20s or 30s, which means they tried something else before turning to stone carving. \u201cThat never happened in the past. I guess it\u2019s become a bit easier to change fields these days, and maybe there\u2019s a bit more consciousness about not staying in a profession one doesn\u2019t enjoy.\u201d Stone carving provides someone with the opportunity to experiment and explore their creativity, and it often leads to offshoot career paths. \u201cI know a few people who went on to study further and focus on historical restoration of buildings. That\u2019s a separate area, a different skill.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marcus thinks the profession will stay stable in terms of technological advancement \u2013 for now. \u201cThere are machines involved in stone carving, and our craft is becoming more mechanised, especially in terms of design,\u201d he admits. \u201cBut more automation requires more skills to control the machine from the human end. From our business perspective, it also doesn\u2019t make sense to buy an expensive machine at the expense of multiple workers.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Stoned-Marcus_c_Mak_12-scaled.jpeg\")
Makar Artemev<\/p>\n
In the end, the future seems safe for someone, like Ratak, freshly entering the profession. After all, petroglyphs are humanity\u2019s oldest art form, and a craft that dates back 200,000 years isn\u2019t easily undone, even by our rapidly digitalised society. Carving a person\u2019s life story into stone requires more than just dexterity. It demands time, attention and a surprising amount of empathy: a craft in its most fundamental form. As Marcus phrases it, \u201cOne can still see the craft in the quality of the result.\u201d<\/p>\n