The Cemetery of the Defenders of Lwów (, ''Cemetery of Eaglets'', ''Orlat Cemetery'') is a memorial and a burial place for the

Poles Pole or poles may refer to: People *Poles (people), another term for Polish people, from the country of Poland * Pole (surname), including a list of people with the name * Pole (musician) (Stefan Betke, born 1967), German electronic music artist ...

and their allies who died in

Lwów Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

() during the hostilities of the Polish-Ukrainian War and Polish-Soviet War between 1918 and 1920. The complex is a part of the city's historic

Lychakiv Cemetery Lychakiv Cemetery (; ), officially State History and Culture Museum-Reserve "Lychakiv Cemetery" (), is a historic cemetery in Lviv, Ukraine. History Since its creation in 1787 as Łyczakowski Cemetery, it has been the main necropolis of the c ...

. There are about 3000 graves in that part of the cemetery; some from the Lwów Eaglets young

militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

volunteers, after whom that part of the cemetery is named. It was one of the most famous

necropolis A necropolis (: necropolises, necropoles, necropoleis, necropoli) is a large, designed cemetery with elaborate tomb monuments. The name stems from the Ancient Greek ''nekropolis'' (). The term usually implies a separate burial site at a distan ...

es of the

interwar Poland The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 7 October 1918 and 6 October 1939. The state was established in the final stage of World War I. ...

. Initially neglected during Soviet times, much of the cemetery was destroyed in 1971.Lwów: Polak chciał "uwolnić lwy" na Cmentarzu Orląt Lwowskich
/ref> Following the

Revolutions of 1989 The revolutions of 1989, also known as the Fall of Communism, were a revolutionary wave of liberal democracy movements that resulted in the collapse of most Communist state, Marxist–Leninist governments in the Eastern Bloc and other parts ...

, the cemetery remained neglected until improvements in Polish-Ukrainian relations that resulted in its rebuilding and refurbishment, leading to it becoming one of the principal tourist attractions of Lviv.

In the Second Polish Republic

In 1918–1919, Poles and Ukrainians fought over the territory of

Eastern Galicia Eastern Galicia (; ; ) is a geographical region in Western Ukraine (present day oblasts of Lviv Oblast, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, Ivano-Frankivsk and Ternopil Oblast, Ternopil), having also essential historic importance in Poland. Galicia ( ...

that included Lviv; with Poland defeating the

Western Ukrainian People's Republic The West Ukrainian People's Republic (; West Ukrainian People's Republic#Name, see other names) was a short-lived state that controlled most of Eastern Galicia from November 1918 to July 1919. It included major cities of Lviv, Ternopil, Kolom ...

. A year later, another war, between Poland and the

Russian SFSR The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (Russian SFSR or RSFSR), previously known as the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and the Russian Soviet Republic, and unofficially as Soviet Russia,Declaration of Rights of the labo ...

, was fought around the city. In the aftermath, the city ended up being part of

, and the Polish authorities decided to construct a memorial to the Poles and their allies who died in the 1918–1920 hostilities in that region. Orleta-lwowskie

The necropolis complex was designed by Rudolf Indruch, an architecture student from the

Lviv Polytechnic Lviv Polytechnic National University () is a public university in Lviv, Ukraine, founded in 1816. According to the Times Higher Education, as of 2024, it ranks first as a technical institution of higher education and second among all instit ...

whose project won the competition. The most visible element was a domed chapel which towers over the tombs underneath. Exhumed remains of the 72 fighters were put in

catacombs Catacombs are man-made underground passages primarily used for religious purposes, particularly for burial. Any chamber used as a burial place is considered a catacomb, although the word is most commonly associated with the Roman Empire. Etym ...

located between the chapel and the tombs. In addition to Polish fighters, this part of the cemetery also has graves and monuments to American (pilots from the Kościuszko Squadron) and French volunteers who fought on the Polish side, two monuments were dedicated to those Polish foreign allies. Underneath, an inscription "Mortui sunt ut liberi vivamus" ("They died so we could live free") was engraved on a semi-circular colonnade monument. A

triumphal arch A triumphal arch is a free-standing monumental structure in the shape of an archway with one or more arched passageways, often designed to span a road, and usually standing alone, unconnected to other buildings. In its simplest form, a triumphal ...

was flanked by two stone lions. The necropolis was never finished; its construction continued until the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Out of almost 3,000 tombs, 300 were dedicated to the Eaglets, as the young Polish defenders of the city from 1918 are known. In 1925 the ashes of one of the unknown defenders of Lwów were transferred to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Warsaw.

Wartime devastation and aftermath

After the

Soviet invasion of Poland The Soviet invasion of Poland was a military conflict by the Soviet Union without a formal declaration of war. On 17 September 1939, the Soviet Union invaded Second Polish Republic, Poland from the east, 16 days after Nazi Germany invaded Polan ...

and the events of World War II, the city became part of

Soviet Ukraine The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, abbreviated as the Ukrainian SSR, UkrSSR, and also known as Soviet Ukraine or just Ukraine, was one of the constituent republics of the Soviet Union from 1922 until 1991. Under the Soviet one-party m ...

, and the Polish historical monuments located at the cemetery were devastated or neglected. The stone lions, the columnade, the monuments to foreign troops were removed. Up to 1971 many of the sculptures were destroyed; the cemetery of Lviv Eaglets was completely destroyed and turned into a truck depot. Soviets attempted to destroy the triumphal arch with

tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engine; ...

s. In the 1970s, the majority of the tombs were razed with

bulldozer A bulldozer or dozer (also called a crawler) is a large tractor equipped with a metal #Blade, blade at the front for pushing material (soil, sand, snow, rubble, or rock) during construction work. It travels most commonly on continuous tracks, ...

s. The Lviv Eaglets section was, however, not reopened for several decades, as the fact that many of the people buried there fought on the Polish side against the Ukrainians during the Polish-Ukrainian War generated some controversy. The issue has resurfaced several times in the Polish-Ukrainian relations; however, in 1989 the reconstruction works have begun, carried by local Polonia and Polish workers working temporarily in Lviv. Eventually the Cemetery of the Defenders of Lviv was reopened on 24 June 2005 when the Lviv City Council, which initially resisted the opening, eventually changed its mind, following Polish support for Ukraine's

Orange Revolution The Orange Revolution () was a series of protests that led to political upheaval in Ukraine from late November 2004 to January 2005. It gained momentum primarily due to the initiative of the general population, sparked by the aftermath of the ...

(2004).

President of Poland The president of Poland ( ), officially the president of the Republic of Poland (), is the head of state of Poland. His or her prerogatives and duties are determined in the Constitution of Poland. The president jointly exercises the executive ...

Aleksander Kwaśniewski Aleksander Kwaśniewski (; born 15 November 1954) is a Polish politician and journalist. He served the maximum two terms as the president of Poland from 1995 to 2005. His tenure as President was marked by modernization of Poland, rapid economi ...

and

President of Ukraine The president of Ukraine (, ) is the head of state of Ukraine. The president represents the nation in international relations, administers the foreign political activity of the state, conducts negotiations and concludes international treaties. ...

Viktor Yushchenko Viktor Andriiovych Yushchenko (, ; born 23 February 1954) is a Ukrainian politician who was the third president of Ukraine from 23 January 2005 to 25 February 2010. He aimed to orient Ukraine towards Western world, the West, European Union, and N ...

, who attended the opening ceremony, agreed that the reconstruction and official opening represents a major improvement in Polish-Ukrainian relations.

References

External links

THE REDEDICATION OF POLISH "CAMPO SANTO" IN Lwów (Lviv) BY PRESIDENTS OF UKRAINE AND POLAND

Transitions Online Poland & Ukraine: Where Eaglets Lie

The Orlat Cemetery

President of The Republic of Poland – News on opening the cemetery

Presidents of Ukraine and Poland unveil memorials at Lviv cemetery
The Ukrainian Weekly, July 3, 2005, No. 27, Vol. LXXIII *

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cemetery Of The Defenders Of Lwow Buildings and structures in Lviv Cemeteries in Ukraine

Lwow Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

In the Second Polish Republic

Wartime devastation and aftermath

See also

References

External links