Powązki Cemetery

Powązki Cemetery (Polish pronunciation: [pɔˈvɔ̃skʲi]; Polish: Cmentarz Powązkowski), also known as Stare Powązki (English: Old Powązki), is a historic necropolis located in Wola district, in the western part of Warsaw, Poland. It is the most famous cemetery in the city and one of the oldest, having been established in 1790. It is the burial place of many illustrious individuals from Polish history. Some are interred along the "Avenue of the Distinguished" - Aleja Zasłużonych, created in 1925. It is estimated that over 1 million people are buried at Powązki.[2]

"Powązki" redirects here. For other uses, see Powązki (disambiguation).

Not to be confused with Powązki Military Cemetery.

Powązki Cemetery

Example of lavish tombstones at the cemetery
Details
Established	4 November 1790[1]
Location	Warsaw
Country	Poland
Type	Public
Size	43 hectares (110 acres)[1]
No. of graves	over 1 million[2]
Website	Unofficial website
Find a Grave	Powązki Cemetery

The cemetery is often confused with the newer Powązki Military Cemetery, which is located to the north-west of Powązki Cemetery.

History

Powązki Cemetery was established on 4 November 1790 on land donated by nobleman Melchior Szymanowski, and consecrated on 20 May 1792. Initially it covered an area of only about 2.5 ha. In the same year Saint Karol Boromeusz Church, designed by Dominik Merlini, was built on the northern edge of the cemetery. The catacombs were erected soon thereafter.

Several other cemeteries were founded in the area: the Jewish cemetery, and those of the Calvinist, Lutheran, Caucasian and Tatar communities. The Orthodox cemetery is also located in the vicinity.

As in many old European cemeteries, some of the tombstones in Powązki were created by renowned sculptors, both Polish and foreign. Some of the monuments are examples of the then prevailing styles in art and architecture.

On All Saints Day (1 November) and Zaduszki (2 November) in Warsaw, vigils are held not only in the Roman Catholic cemeteries, but in the Protestant, Muslim, Jewish and Orthodox cemeteries as well. At Powązki Cemetery, many graves are lit up by Votive candles.

Some notable burials

A few of the notables buried here are:

• Tekla Bądarzewska-Baranowska (1834–1861), composer
• Izabela Barcińska née Chopin (1811–1881), younger sister of Fryderyk Chopin
• Wojciech Bogusławski (1757–1829), writer, actor, director
• Jan Gotlib Bloch (1836–1902), banker, railroad entrepreneur, philanthropist, economist, economist and social activist
• Emilia Chopin (1812–1827), youngest sister of Fryderyk Chopin
• Ludwika Jędrzejewiczowa née Chopin (1807–1855), oldest sister of Fryderyk Chopin
• Mikołaj Chopin (1771–1844), father of Fryderyk Chopin
• Justyna Chopin (1782–1861), mother of Fryderyk Chopin
• Kazimierz Ołdakowski (1879-1940), prewar director of Fabryka Broni
• Gerard Antoni Ciołek (1909–1966), architect and historian of gardens
• Ignacy Dobrzyński (1807–1867), composer
• Jerzy Duszyński (1917–1978), actor
• Józef Elsner (1769–1854), composer and conductor. Piano teacher of Fryderyk Chopin.
• Władysław Filipkowski (1892–1950), military commander
• Pola Gojawiczyńska (1896–1963), writer
• Józef Gosławski, (1908–1963), sculptor and medallic artist
• Leopold Janikowski (1855–1942), meteorologist, explorer and ethnographer
• Stanisław Janikowski (1891–1965), Polish diplomat
• Stefan Jaracz (1883–1945), actor
• Jan Kiepura (1902–1966), singer and actor
• Krzysztof Kieślowski (1941–1996), film director
• Jan Kiliński (1760–1819), freedom fighter
• Stefan Kisielewski (1911–1991), art critic and writer
• Krzysztof Komeda (1931–1969), jazz composer
• Alfred Kowalski (1849–1915), painter
• Henryk Kuna (1885–1945), sculptor
• Witold Lutosławski (1913–1994), composer
• Maciej Masłowski (1901-1976), art historian
• Stanisław Masłowski (1853–1926), painter-artist
• Witold Małcużyński (1914–1977), classical pianist
• Stefan Mazurkiewicz (1888–1945), co-founder of the Warsaw school of mathematics
• Jerzy Mierzejewski (1917–2012), artist and pedagogue
• Stanisław Moniuszko (1819–1872), composer
• Ola Obarska (1910–1992), singer and actress
• Antoni Osuchowski (1849–1928), philanthropist and national activist
• Lech Pijanowski (1928–1974), film-maker and game designer
• Bolesław Prus (1847–1912), journalist and novelist
• Kazimierz Pużak (1883–1950), died in the Communist prison, secretly buried in Powązki
• Władysław Reymont (1867–1925), Nobel Prize-winning novelist
• Edward Rydz-Śmigły (1886-1941) politician, statesman, Marshal of Poland and Commander-in-Chief of Poland's armed forces
• Irena Sendlerowa (1910–2008), head of Children's Section of the Żegota
• Wacław Sierpiński (1882–1969), mathematician
• Andrzej Sołtan (1897–1959), physicist
• Zbigniew Ścibor-Rylski (1917-2018), military commander, participant of the Warsaw Uprising
• Michał Karaszewicz-Tokarzewski (1893–1964), general
• Jerzy Waldorff (1910–1999), art critic and one of the benefactors of the Cemetery
• Melchior Wańkowicz (1892–1974), writer
• Henryk Wieniawski (1835–1870), composer
• Kazimierz Wierzyński (1894–1969), poet and writer
• Stanisław Wigura (1901–1932), aircraft designer and aviator
• Stanisław Wojciechowski (1869–1953), president of Poland
• Aleksander Zelwerowicz (1877–1955), actor and director, patron of the Warsaw Drama Academy
• Franciszek Żwirko (1895–1932), aviator
• Wojciech Żywny (1756–1842), first piano teacher of Fryderyk Chopin, composer.

Gallery

• 
  Avenue of Notables
• 
  Saint Karol Boromeusz Church
• 
  Old Powązki
• 
  Edward Rydz-Śmigły grave
• 
  Old Powązki
• 
  Old Powązki
• 
  Old Powązki
• 
  Old Powązki
• 
  Old Powązki

See also

• Rakowicki Cemetery
• Lychakiv Cemetery

References

1. "Historia Cmentarza Powązkowskiego" (in Polish). Archived from the original on 4 November 2010. Retrieved 10 August 2010.
2. "Najsłynniejszy cmentarz Warszawy". Retrieved 9 July 2017.