Hautapaikan

Hautapaikan is the genitive form of the Finnish noun hautapaikka, meaning a grave site or burial place. The word is formed from hauta, meaning grave, and paikka, meaning place. The genitive suffix -n marks possession or association, so hautapaikan can be understood as “of the grave site” or “the grave site’s.”

In contemporary Finnish, hautapaikka can refer to a specific burial plot within a cemetery. Hautapaikan is used in fixed phrases that denote ownership, reservation, or upkeep, such as hautapaikan omistaja (owner of the grave site), hautapaikan varaus (grave site reservation), and hautapaikan hoito (maintenance of the grave site). The term appears in legal, administrative, and cemetery-related contexts, typically alongside other terms like hauta (grave) and hautausmaa (cemetery).

Historically, references to hautapaikka can appear in texts describing burial practices in churchyards or archaeological burials, but in modern usage it most commonly denotes a defined plot within a cemetery. Rights to a hautapaikka are usually managed by cemetery authorities and may involve rules about upkeep, gravestone placement, and duration of usage.

See also: hauta, hautausmaa, arkku, kremaatio. The concept differs from general references to graves or cemeteries, focusing specifically on a designated plot or space within a burial setting.