Powązki Cemetery (; pl, Cmentarz Powązkowski), also known as Stare Powązki ( en, Old Powązki), is a historic

necropolis A necropolis (plural necropolises, necropoles, necropoleis, necropoli) is a large, designed cemetery with elaborate tomb monuments. The name stems from the Ancient Greek ''nekropolis'', literally meaning "city of the dead". The term usually im ...

located in

Wola Wola (, ) is a district in western Warsaw, Poland, formerly the village of Wielka Wola, incorporated into Warsaw in 1916. An industrial area with traditions reaching back to the early 19th century, it underwent a transformation into an office (co ...

district, in the western part of

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officiall ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

. 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. 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 Domenico Merlini () (22 February 1730 – 20 February 1797) was an Italian-Polish architect whose work was mostly in the classical style. Life and Style From 1750 till his death, Merlini lived in Poland. In 1768, he became a nobleman and later ...

, was built on the northern edge of the cemetery. The

catacombs Catacombs are man-made subterranean passageways for religious practice. Any chamber used as a burial place is a catacomb, although the word is most commonly associated with the Roman Empire. Etymology and history The first place to be referred ...

were erected soon thereafter. Several other cemeteries were founded in the area: the

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

cemetery, and those of the

Calvinist Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John C ...

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched ...

, Caucasian and

Tatar The Tatars ()Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different

communities. The Orthodox cemetery is also located in the vicinity. As in many old European cemeteries, some of the

tombstones A headstone, tombstone, or gravestone is a stele or marker, usually stone, that is placed over a grave. It is traditional for burials in the Christian, Jewish, and Muslim religions, among others. In most cases, it has the deceased's name, da ...

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 All Saints' Day, also known as All Hallows' Day, the Feast of All Saints, the Feast of All Hallows, the Solemnity of All Saints, and Hallowmas, is a Christian solemnity celebrated in honour of all the saints of the church, whether they are kno ...

'' (1 November) and '' Zaduszki'' (2 November) in Warsaw, vigils are held not only in the

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

cemeteries, but in the

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...

ish and Orthodox cemeteries as well. At Powązki Cemetery, many graves are lit up by Votive candles.

Notable burials

A few of the notables buried here are: *

Tekla Bądarzewska-Baranowska Tekla Bądarzewska-Baranowska (1829/1834 – 29 September 1861) was a Polish composer and pianist. She composed mainly for the piano and is internationally known for her composition '' A Maiden's Prayer''. Life and death Bądarzewska was born ...

(1834–1861), composer * Izabela Barcińska née Chopin, (1811–1881), younger sister of

Fryderyk Chopin The Fryderyk is the annual award in Polish music. Its name refers to the original Polish spelling variant of Polish composer Frédéric Chopin's first name. Its status in the Polish public can be compared to the American Grammy and the UK's ...

Anna Bilińska Anna Bilińska (pronounced: also known as Anna Bilińska-Bohdanowicz; 8 December 1854 – 18 April 1893) was a Polish painter, known for her portraits. A representative of realism, she spent most of her life in Paris, and is considered the "fir ...

(1857–1893), painter * Wojciech Bogusławski (1757–1829), writer, actor, director *

Stefan Bryla Stefan may refer to: * Stefan (given name) * Stefan (surname) * Ștefan, a Romanian given name and a surname * Štefan, a Slavic given name and surname * Stefan (footballer) (born 1988), Brazilian footballer * Stefan Heym, pseudonym of German writ ...

(1886-1943), notable for first welding bridge-Maurzyce Bridge * Jan Gotlib Bloch (1836–1902), banker, railroad entrepreneur, philanthropist, economist, economist and social activist * Emilia Chopin (1812–1827), youngest sister of

* Ludwika Jędrzejewicz née Chopin (1807–1855), oldest sister of

Mikołaj Chopin Nicolas Chopin (in pl, Mikołaj Chopin; 15 April 17713 May 1844) was a teacher of the French language in Partitioned Poland, and father of Polish composer Frédéric Chopin.Łopaciński, "Chopin, Mikołaj," p. 426. Life Nicolas Chopin was bo ...

(1771–1844), father of

Tekla Justyna Chopin Justyna Krzyżanowska (; c. 14 September 17821 October 1861) was a Polish nanny, amateur musician, and pianist who became the first music teacher of her son, the pianist and composer Frédéric Chopin. She later ran a boarding house for students w ...

(1782–1861), mother of

Gerard Antoni Ciołek Gerard Ciołek (24 September 1909 – 15 February 1966) was a Polish architect, as well as a leading historian of parks and gardens. Biography Gerard Antoni Ciołek was born in Wyżnica, a small town in the Austro-Hungarian Duchy of ...

(1909–1966), architect and historian of gardens *

Ignacy Dobrzyński Ignacy Dobrzyński (2 February 1779 – 17 August 1841) was a Polish musician (violinist) and composer. He was the father of Ignacy Feliks Dobrzyński and Edward Dobrzyński. Life Born in Volynia Volhynia (also spelled Volynia) ( ; uk, Во ...

(1807–1867), composer * Jerzy Duszyński (1917–1978), actor *

Józef Elsner Józef Antoni Franciszek Elsner (sometimes ''Józef Ksawery Elsner''; baptismal name, ''Joseph Anton Franz Elsner''; 1 June 176918 April 1854) was a composer, music teacher, and music theoretician, active mainly in Warsaw. He was one of the fir ...

(1769–1854), composer and conductor. Piano teacher of

. * Władysław Filipkowski (1892–1950), military commander *

Pola Gojawiczyńska Pola Gojawiczyńska, real name Apolonia Gojawiczyńska, née Koźniewska (1 April 1896 – 29 March 1963) was a Polish writer. Biography Early life She was born in Warsaw as a daughter of a craftsman-carpenter. She studied in a public schoo ...

(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 Stefan Jaracz (24 December 1883 – 11 August 1945) was a Polish actor and theater producer. He served as the artistic director of Ateneum Theatre in Warsaw during the interwar period (1930–32), and within a short period raised its reputation ...

(1883–1945), actor *

Jan Kiepura Jan Wiktor Kiepura (May 16, 1902 – August 15, 1966) was a Polish singer (tenor) and actor. Life and career Jan Kiepura was born in Sosnowiec, Poland, the son of Miriam (née Neuman), a former professional singer, and Franciszek Kiepura, a b ...

(1902–1966), singer and actor *

Krzysztof Kieślowski Krzysztof Kieślowski (; 27 June 1941 – 13 March 1996) was a Polish film director and screenwriter. He is known internationally for '' Dekalog'' (1989), ''The Double Life of Veronique'' (1991), and the ''Three Colours'' trilogy (1993 –1994 ...

(1941–1996), film director * Jan Kiliński (1760–1819), freedom fighter *

Stefan Kisielewski Stefan Kisielewski (7 March 1911 in Warsaw – 27 September 1991 in Warsaw, Poland), nicknames Kisiel, Julia Hołyńska, Teodor Klon, Tomasz Staliński, was a Polish writer, publicist, composer and politician, and one of the members of Znak, one ...

(1911–1991), art critic and writer * Stanislava Klimashevskaya (1851-1939), photographer and studio owner *

Tomasz Knapik Tomasz Knapik (16 September 1943 – 6 September 2021) was a Polish film, radio and television voice-over translation artist (known as ''lektor'' in Polish), doctor of electrical engineering by education, lecturer at the Faculty of Transport of t ...

(1943–2021), film, radio and television reader * Krzysztof Komeda (1931–1969),

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

composer * Alfred Kowalski (1849–1915), painter *

Henryk Kuna Henryk Kuna (c.1885 – 17 December 1945) was a Polish sculptor, active in the early twentieth century. His long career produced many famous works of arts including several renowned public monuments in his native country of Poland. Life Henryk K ...

(1885–1945), sculptor *

Witold Lutosławski Witold Roman Lutosławski (; 25 January 1913 – 7 February 1994) was a Polish composer and conductor. Among the major composers of 20th-century classical music, he is "generally regarded as the most significant Polish composer since Szyman ...

(1913–1994), composer * Józefat Ignacy Łukasiewicz (1789 - 1850), painter-artist *

Maciej Masłowski Maciej Masłowski (January 24, 1901 – August 17, 1976) was a Polish art historian. Biography Masłowski was born in Warsaw. He was a son of painter Stanisław Masłowski (1853–1926) and piano teacher Aniela born Ponikowska (1864–1940). Af ...

(1901-1976),

art historian Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today, ...

* Stanisław Masłowski (1853–1926), painter-artist * Witold Małcużyński (1914–1977), classical pianist *

Stefan Mazurkiewicz Stefan Mazurkiewicz (25 September 1888 – 19 June 1945) was a Polish mathematician who worked in mathematical analysis, topology, and probability. He was a student of Wacław Sierpiński and a member of the Polish Academy of Learning (''PAU''). ...

(1888–1945), co-founder of the Warsaw school of mathematics * Jerzy Mierzejewski (1917–2012), artist and pedagogue *

Stanisław Moniuszko Stanisław Moniuszko (; May 5, 1819 – June 4, 1872) was a Polish composer, conductor and teacher. He wrote many popular art songs and operas, and his music is filled with patriotic folk themes of the peoples of the former Polish–Lithuania ...

(1819–1872), composer * Janusz Nasfeter (1920–1998) – film director and screenwriter; moved in 2018 from the Służew Old Cemetery * Ola Obarska (1910–1992), singer and actress * Antoni Osuchowski (1849–1928), philanthropist and national activist * Piotr Pawlukiewicz (1960–2020), Roman Catholic priest, doctor of pastoral theology *

Lech Pijanowski Lech Andrzej Pijanowski (; 26 July 1928 – 6 January 1974) was a Polish film critic, broadcaster, director, screenwriter and populiser of games. Personal life Pijanowski was born on 26 July 1928 in Warsaw and died 6 January 1974 aged 45 in Warsaw ...

(1928–1974), film-maker and game designer * Bolesław Prus (1847–1912), journalist and novelist *

Grzegorz Przemyk Grzegorz Przemyk (17 May 1964 – 14 May 1983) was an aspiring Polish poet from Warsaw, who was murdered by members of the Communist police force, the Milicja Obywatelska (Citizens' Militia). His killing was one of many such politically motiv ...

(1964–1983), poet murdered by

Milicja Obywatelska Milicja Obywatelska (), in English known as the Citizens' Militia and commonly abbreviated to MO, was the national police organization of the Polish People's Republic. It was established on 7 October 1944 by the Polish Committee of National Libera ...

Kazimierz Pużak Kazimierz Pużak (1883–1950) was a Polish socialist politician of the interwar period. Active in the Polish Socialist Party, he was one of the leaders of the Polish Secret State and Polish resistance, sentenced by the Soviets in the infamou ...

(1883–1950), died in the

Communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, ...

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, corre ...

, secretly buried in Powązki * Władysław Reymont (1867–1925),

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...

-winning novelist *

Edward Rydz-Śmigły Marshal Edward Rydz-Śmigły (11 March 1886 – 2 December 1941; nom de guerre ''Śmigły, Tarłowski, Adam Zawisza''), also called Edward Śmigły-Rydz, was a Polish politician, statesman, Marshal of Poland and Commander-in-Chief of Poland ...

(1886-1941), politician, statesman, Marshal of Poland and Commander-in-Chief of Poland's armed forces *

Ireneusz Roszkowski Ireneusz Roszkowski (24 March 1910 – 21 April 1996) was a Polish people, Polish Nobility, nobleman, professor, founder of modern Polish gynaecology and obstetrics, a humanist, precursor of prenatal medicine, a supporter of midwives. He was one ...

(1910-1996), gynaecologist *

Irena Sendlerowa Irena Stanisława Sendler (), also referred to as Irena Sendlerowa in Poland, ''nom de guerre'' Jolanta (15 February 1910 – 12 May 2008), was a Polish humanitarian, social worker, and nurse who served in the Polish Underground Resista ...

(1910–2008), head of Children's Section of the

Żegota Żegota (, full codename: the "Konrad Żegota Committee"Yad Vashem Shoa Resource CenterZegota/ref>) was the Polish Council to Aid Jews with the Government Delegation for Poland ( pl, Rada Pomocy Żydom przy Delegaturze Rządu RP na Kraj), an un ...

Wacław Sierpiński Wacław Franciszek Sierpiński (; 14 March 1882 – 21 October 1969) was a Polish mathematician. He was known for contributions to set theory (research on the axiom of choice and the continuum hypothesis), number theory, theory of functions, and to ...

(1882–1969), mathematician * Andrzej Sołtan (1897–1959), physicist * Zbigniew Ścibor-Rylski (1917-2018), military commander, participant of the

Warsaw Uprising The Warsaw Uprising ( pl, powstanie warszawskie; german: Warschauer Aufstand) was a major World War II operation by the Polish underground resistance to liberate Warsaw from German occupation. It occurred in the summer of 1944, and it was led ...

* Michał Karaszewicz-Tokarzewski (1893–1964), general *

Jerzy Waldorff Jerzy Waldorff-Preyss of the Nabram coat of arms (4 May 1910 – 29 December 1999) was a Polish media personality, public intellectual, socialite, music critic and a music aficionado. He wrote over twenty books, mostly on the subject of classica ...

(1910–1999), art critic and one of the benefactors of the Cemetery *

Melchior Wańkowicz Melchior Wańkowicz (10 January 1892 – 10 September 1974) was a Polish army officer, popular writer, political journalist and publisher. He is most famous for his reporting for the Polish Armed Forces in the West during World War II and writing ...

(1892–1974), writer *

Henryk Wieniawski Henryk Wieniawski (; 10 July 183531 March 1880) was a Polish virtuoso violinist, composer and pedagogue who is regarded amongst the greatest violinists in history. His younger brother Józef Wieniawski and nephew Adam Tadeusz Wieniawski were a ...

(1835–1870), composer *

Kazimierz Wierzyński Kazimierz Wierzyński (Drohobycz, Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, 27 August 1894 – 13 February 1969, London) was a Polish poet and journalist; an elected member of the prestigious Polish Academy of Literature in the Second Polish Repu ...

(1894–1969), poet and writer * Stanisław Wigura (1901–1932), aircraft designer and aviator *

Stanisław Wojciechowski Stanisław Wojciechowski (; 15 March 1869 – 9 April 1953) was a Polish politician and scholar who served as President of Poland between 1922 and 1926, during the Second Polish Republic. He was elected president in 1922, following the assassi ...

(1869–1953), president of Poland * Aleksander Zelwerowicz (1877–1955), actor and director, patron of the Warsaw Drama Academy *

Franciszek Żwirko Franciszek Żwirko nglish pronunciation like: frantsishek zhvirko(16 September 1895 – 11 September 1932) was a prominent Polish sport and military aviator. Along with Stanisław Wigura, he won the international air contest Challenge 1932. He ...

(1895–1932), aviator * Wojciech Żywny (1756–1842), first piano teacher of

, composer.

Gallery

File:PL Warsaw Stare Powązki aleja zasluzonych.jpg, Avenue of Notables File:Kosciol sw Boromeusza w Warszawie.jpg, Saint Karol Boromeusz Church File:PL Warsaw Stare Powązki alejka cmentarza 1.jpg, Old Powązki File:Grob Edwarda Rydza Smiglego.JPG,

grave File:Warsaw Powazki 2007 11 02 20a.JPG, Old Powązki File:Warszawa, Cmentarz Powązkowski SDC11678.JPG, Old Powązki File:Warszawa, Cmentarz Powązkowski SDC11660.JPG, Old Powązki File:Warszawa, Cmentarz Powązkowski SDC11653.JPG, Old Powązki File:Warszawa, Cmentarz Powązkowski SDC11651.JPG, Old Powązki

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Powazki Cemetery Wola * Cemeteries in Warsaw National cemeteries Roman Catholic cemeteries in Poland 1790 establishments in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth

History

Notable burials

Gallery

See also

References