The extraordinary grave of Dr. Franz Leuffen

Dr. Franz Leuffen at the Melatenfriedhof in Cologne. Dr. med. Franz Leuffen is the author of a book on post-mortem examinations, written in the 1860s. Dr. Leuffen died in 1900 and left behind a shocking funerary monument, which at first glance may seem sacrilegious in to be erected in consecrated ground as it depicts an upside-down pentagram and a snake. But in reality the pentagram often appears in Freemasonic symbols, most prominently as the symbol of the Order of the Eastern Star, part of the Masonic family of related groups known as the appendant bodies. The snake, although it seen as the embodiment of evil through the Christian context, is actually a positive symbol, historically, representing a creative life force and secret knowledge. Since snakes shed their skin through sloughing, they became symbols of rebirth, transformation and healing, hence its association with health professionals, and the Rod of Asclepius.