Olšany Cemeteries (, ) is the largest graveyard in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

, once laid out for as many as two million burials. The graveyard is particularly noted for its many remarkable

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...

monuments.

History

The Olšany Cemeteries were created in 1680 to accommodate plague victims who died en masse in Prague and needed to be buried quickly. In 1787, when the plague again struck the city,

Emperor Joseph II Joseph II (13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from 18 August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg monarchy from 29 November 1780 until his death. He was the eldest son of Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, Emperor F ...

banned the burial of bodies within Prague city limits and Olšany Cemeteries were declared the central graveyard for hygiene purposes. The Olšany

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 ...

consists of twelve cemeteries, including an

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...

and a tiny Muslim section, the largest Jewish cemetery in the Czech Republic and military burial grounds. Among the thousands of military personnel buried at Olšany, there are Russian soldiers and officers from the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

, members of the

Czechoslovak Legion The Czechoslovak Legion ( Czech: ''Československé legie''; Slovak: ''Československé légie'') were volunteer armed forces consisting predominantly of Czechs and Slovaks fighting on the side of the Entente powers during World War I and the ...

, Czechoslovak soldiers, officers and pilots who fought at the Eastern and Western Front and in

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

during 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 ...

as well as male and female members of the

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

and

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

(including

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

, South African, Greek and Turkish Cypriot and

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

) armed forces who died for the freedom of Czechoslovakia in 1944–1945, including

POW POW is "prisoner of war", a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict. POW or pow may also refer to: Music * P.O.W (Bullet for My Valentine song), "P.O.W" (Bull ...

s. Based on a bilateral agreement, Czech authorities are responsible for the protection of Russian and Soviet military graves at the Czech territory (as the Russian Federation is responsible for protecting Czechoslovak war graves from both World Wars in Russia). The Commonwealth Prague War Cemetery, including 256 graves, was established under the terms of the 1949 War Graves Agreement between the UK and Czechoslovakia and is maintained by the

Commonwealth War Graves Commission The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of Commonwealth of Nations mil ...

There are two ceremonial halls assigned to bid farewell to the deceased; the newer one is located in a building of the Prague's first

crematorium A crematorium, crematory or cremation center is a venue for the cremation of the Death, dead. Modern crematoria contain at least one cremator (also known as a crematory, retort or cremation chamber), a purpose-built furnace. In some countries a ...

. New to the scene is the "Olšany Cemeteries Learning Trail" which is so far mapping the history of three of the oldest sections, also sketching the life stories of some celebrities buried here. Prague's Olšany cemeteries excel in their picturesque style and tranquil nooks, surpassing even Malostranský cemetery and

Slavín Slavín is a memorial monument and military cemetery in Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. It is the burial ground of thousands of Soviet Army soldiers who fell during World War II while taking over the city in April 1945 from the occupying G ...

, being the biggest necropolis in the Czech Republic. Till this day there is evidence of 230,000 people buried, 65,000 grave sites, 200 chapel graves and six

columbarium A columbarium (; pl. columbaria), also called a cinerarium, is a structure for the reverential and usually public storage of funerary urns holding cremated remains of the dead. The term comes from the Latin ''columba'' (dove) and originally solel ...

s in Olšany Cemeteries.

Famous burials

Many well-known people are buried at Olšany Cemeteries, including:

Writers, artists and actors

Bernard Bolzano Bernard Bolzano (, ; ; ; born Bernardus Placidus Johann Nepomuk Bolzano; 5 October 1781 – 18 December 1848) was a Bohemian mathematician, logician, philosopher, theologian and Catholic priest of Italian extraction, also known for his liberal ...

(1781–1848), mathematician *

Karel Havlíček Borovský Karel Havlíček Borovský (; 31 October 1821 – 29 July 1856) was a Czech writer, poet, critic, politician, journalist, and publisher. Early life and education He lived and studied at the gymnasium in Německý Brod (today Havlíčkův Brod, ...

(1821–1856), writer * Jaroslav Čermák (1831–1878), painter *

Viktor Dyk Viktor Dyk (; 31 December 1877 – 14 May 1931) was a nationalist Czech poet, prose writer, playwright, politician and political writer. He was sent to jail during the First World War for opposing the Austro-Hungarian empire. He was one of the sig ...

(1877–1931), writer and conservative politician *

Karel Jaromír Erben Karel Jaromír Erben (; 7 November 1811 – 21 November 1870) was a Czech folklorist and poet of the mid-19th century, best known for his collection '' Kytice'', which contains poems based on traditional and folkloric themes. He also wrote ''Pí ...

(1811–1870), writer *

Rudolf Hrušínský Rudolf Hrušínský (17 October 1920 – 13 April 1994) was a Czech actor. He was one of the most popular Czech actors. Many of his movies such as ''The Good Soldier Švejk'', '' The Cremator'' or '' Capricious Summer'' are considered classics of ...

(1920–1994), actor *

Václav Kliment Klicpera Václav Kliment Klicpera (23 November 1792 – 15 September 1859) was a Czechs, Czech playwright and poet. He was a prolific author of his own plays and was one of the first presenters of Czech-language drama. He was especially influential in the ...

(1792–1859), playwright *

Ján Kollár Ján Kollár (; 29 July 1793 – 24 January 1852) was a Slovak writer (mainly poet), archaeologist, scientist, Lutheran pastor, politician, and main ideologist of Pan-Slavism. Life He studied at the Lutheran Lyceum in Pressburg (Pozsony, ...

(1793–1852), Slovak

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

pastor, philologist and writer *

Josef Lada Josef Lada (born 17 December 1887 in Hrusice, Bohemia – 14 December 1957 in Prague, buried at Olšany Cemetery) was a Czech painter, illustrator, cartoonist and writer. Pioneer of the Czech comicbook tradition and founder of the “Czech m ...

(1887–1957), artist and writer *

Viktor Oliva Viktor Oliva (24 April 1861 – 5 April 1928) was a Czechs, Czech Painting, painter and illustrator. His most famous painting, ''Absinthe Drinker'' (), is owned by Zlata Husa Gallery Prague and hangs there. Life and work Viktor Oliva was a ma ...

(1861–1928), artist *

Ossi Oswalda Ossi Oswalda (born Oswalda Amalie Anna Stäglich, 2 February 1898https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/5753/images/41540_prep201_000020-00010?pid=150049&backurl=https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv%3D1%26dbid%3D5753%26h%3 ...

(1897–1947), German actress in

silent film A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...

* Jan Rejsa (1886–1971), artist, editor, and writer *

Pavel Jozef Šafárik Pavel Jozef Šafárik (; 13 May 1795 – 26 June 1861) was a Slovak philologist, poet, literary historian, historian and ethnographer in the Kingdom of Hungary. He was one of the first scientific Slavists. Family His father Pavol Šafárik (17 ...

(1795–1861), Slovak philologist and historian *

Antonín Slavíček Antonín Slavíček (16 May 1870 – 1 February 1910) was a Czech Impressionist painter. He worked mostly in the area surrounding Kameničky. Life In 1887, he entered the Academy of Fine Arts, Prague, where he studied landscape painting with J ...

(1870–1910), painter *

Ladislav Stroupežnický Ladislav Stroupežnický (6 January 1850 – 11 August 1892) was a Czech author, playwright, and dramatist, best known for the frequently staged play ''Naši furianti''. Life He was born at Cerhonice and attended high school at Písek, but wa ...

(1850–1892), playwright * Jan Erazim Vocel (1803–1871), poet, archaeologist, historian and cultural revivalist *

Jiří Voskovec Jiří Voskovec () (born Jiří Wachsmann; June 19, 1905 – July 1, 1981), known in the United States as George Voskovec, was a Czech-American actor. Throughout much of his career, he was associated with actor and playwright Jan Werich. In the ...

(1905–1981), actor and playwright *

Jan Werich Jan Werich (; 6 February 1905 – 31 October 1980) was a Czech actor, playwright and writer. Early life Between 1916 and 1924, Werich attended "reálné gymnasium" (equivalent to high school) in Křemencova Street in Prague (where his future b ...

(1905–1980), actor *

Vladimír Menšík Vladimír Menšík (9 October 1929 – 29 May 1988) was a Czech actor and entertainer. He is considered one of the greatest Czech comedians, storytellers and improvisers. Life Vladimír Menšík was born on 9 October 1929 in Ivančice, Czechosl ...

(1929–1988), actor and comedian

Politicians

Karel Kramář Karel Kramář (27 December 1860 – 26 May 1937) was a Czech politician. He was a representative of the major Czech political party, the Young Czechs, in the Austrian Imperial Council from 1891 to 1915 (where he was also known as Karl Kramar ...

(1860–1937), politician and first Prime Minister of Czechoslovakia (November 1918 – July 1919) and his Russian wife Nadezhda (1862–1936) are buried in the crypt of the Dormition Church (Chrám Zesnutí přesvaté Bohorodice) in the Orthodox section of the cemetery *

Jan Syrový Jan Syrový (24 January 1888 – 17 October 1970) was a Czechoslovak general who was the prime minister of Czechoslovakia during the Munich Crisis. Early life and military career Jan Syrový studied building at a technical school. Follow ...

(1888–1970), general and Prime Minister of Czechoslovakia during the

Munich Crisis The Munich Agreement was reached in Munich on 30 September 1938, by Nazi Germany, the United Kingdom, the French Republic, and the Kingdom of Italy. The agreement provided for the German annexation of part of Czechoslovakia called the Sudete ...

(September–December 1938), as well as acting president following the resignation of

Edvard Beneš Edvard Beneš (; 28 May 1884 – 3 September 1948) was a Czech politician and statesman who served as the president of Czechoslovakia from 1935 to 1938, and again from 1939 to 1948. During the first six years of his second stint, he led the Czec ...

Radola Gajda Radola Gajda, born as Rudolf Geidl (14 February 1892 – 15 April 1948) was a Czech military commander and politician. Early years Geidl's father was an officer in the Austro-Hungarian Army based in Kotor. His mother was a poor Montenegrin nob ...

(1892–1948), military officer (and eventually general) with the

Czechoslovak Legions The Czechoslovak Legion (Czech: ''Československé legie''; Slovak: ''Československé légie'') were volunteer armed forces consisting predominantly of Czechs and Slovaks fighting on the side of the Entente powers during World War I and the ...

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and the

Russian Civil War The Russian Civil War () was a multi-party civil war in the former Russian Empire sparked by the 1917 overthrowing of the Russian Provisional Government in the October Revolution, as many factions vied to determine Russia's political future. I ...

; later one of the founders of the fascist (yet anti-German)

National Fascist Community The National Fascist Community (, ''NOF'', sometimes translated as ''National Fascist League'') was a Czechoslovak Fascist movement led by Radola Gajda, and based on the Fascism of Benito Mussolini.Stanley G. Payne, ''A History of Fascism 1914-19 ...

and member of the Czechoslovakian Parliament Hrob K

Klement Gottwald Klement Gottwald (; 23 November 1896 – 14 March 1953) was a Czech communist politician, who was the leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia from 1929 until his death in 1953 – titled as general secretary until 1945 and as chairman f ...

(1896–1953), communist

President of Czechoslovakia The president of Czechoslovakia (, ) was the head of state of Czechoslovakia, from the Origins of Czechoslovakia, creation of the First Czechoslovak Republic in 1918 until the Dissolution of Czechoslovakia, dissolution of the Czech and Slovak F ...

(1948–1953); his body was originally displayed in a

mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type o ...

at the

Jan Žižka Jan Žižka z Trocnova a Kalicha (; 1360 – 11 October 1424) was a Czechs, Czech military leader and Knight who was a contemporary and follower of Jan Hus, and a prominent Radical Hussite who led the Taborites, Taborite faction during the Hu ...

National Monument at Vítkov The National Monument at Vítkov () on top of Vítkov Hill in Prague's Žižkov district is one of the most important buildings commemorating the Czechoslovakia, Czechoslovak/Czech Republic, Czech statehood. It includes the third-largest bronz ...

. In 1962 the body was cremated, the ashes returned to the Žižka Monument and placed in a sarcophagus. In 1990, Gottwald's ashes were moved to Olšany Cemetery, together with the ashes of about 20 other communist leaders which had also originally been placed in the Jan Žižka National Monument ( Gusta Fučiková, Marta Gottwaldová, Josef Haken, Jan Harus, Josef Hlavicka, Čeněk Hruška, Jiří František Chaloupecký,

Antonín Janoušek Antonín Janoušek (22 August 1877 – 30 March 1941) was a Czech journalist and communist politician. He was the leader of the short-lived Slovak Soviet Republic. Life and career Originally an engine fitter, in 1895, Janoušek became a member o ...

, Josef Juran, Augustin Kliment,

Václav Kopecký Václav Kopecký (27 August 1897 – 5 August 1961) was a Czechoslovak politician, journalist and chief ideologue of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (KSČ) during the leadership of Klement Gottwald. A high-ranking member of the party since ...

Marie Majerová Marie Majerová (1 February 1882 – 16 January 1967) was a Czech writer and translator. Biography The daughter of working-class parents, she was born in Úvaly and grew up in Kladno. When she was sixteen, she began working as a servant in Budape ...

, Stefan Major, Václav Nosek, Bohuslav Novotný, Julie Prokopová, Antonín Sochor, Rudolf Strechaj, Josef Tesla, Rudolf Vetiska,

Jan Vodička Jan Vodička (13 April 1932 – 28 September 2014)
Bohuslav Vrbenský and Antonín Zmrhal). *

Piotra Krecheuski Pyotra Krecheuski (, Łacinka: Piotra Krečeŭski, ; August 7, 1879 – March 8, 1928, Prague) was a Belarusian statesman and president of the Rada of the Belarusian Democratic Republic in exile. Before the First World War he worked as a teache ...

(1879–1928), Belarusian statesman and president of the

Rada The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, also known by its abbreviation RADA (), is a drama school in London, England, which provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in Bloomsbury, Central Lond ...

of the

Belarusian Democratic Republic The Belarusian People's Republic (BNR; , ), also known as the Belarusian Democratic Republic, was a state proclaimed by the Council of the Belarusian Democratic Republic in its Second Constituent Charter on 9 March 1918 during World War I. The ...

in exile. *

Vasil Zacharka Vasil Zacharka (, 1 April 1877, Dabrasielcy near Grodno – 14 March 1943, Prague) was a Belarusian statesman and the second president of the Belarusian People's Republic in exile. Early life Vasil Zacharka was born in a peasant family near ...

(1877–1943), Belarusian politician, activist, president of the

of the

in exile. *

Svetozar Pribićević Svetozar Pribićević ( sr-Cyrl, Светозар Прибићевић}, ; 26 October 1875 – 15 September 1936) was a Croatian Serb politician in Austria-Hungary and later the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. He was one of the main proponents of Yugoslavi ...

(1875–1936), was a Croatian Serb politician in Austria-Hungary.

Others

Jan Palach Jan Palach (; 11 August 1948 – 19 January 1969) was a Czech student of history and political economics at Charles University in Prague. His self-immolation in 1969 at age 20 was a political protest against the end of the Prague Spring resul ...

(1948–1969), student who set himself on fire in

Wenceslas Square Wenceslas Square (Czech language, Czech: , colloquially ''Václavák'' ; German language, German: ''Wenzelsplatz'') is one of the main city squares and the centre of the business and cultural communities in the New Town, Prague, New Town of Pr ...

(Prague) as a protest against the 1968

Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia On 20–21 August 1968, the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic was jointly invaded by four fellow Warsaw Pact countries: the Soviet Union, the Polish People's Republic, the People's Republic of Bulgaria, and the Hungarian People's Republic. The ...

Pavel Roman Pavel Roman (25 January 1943 – 30 January 1972) was a Czech Figure skating, figure skater who represented Czechoslovakia in pair skating and ice dancing with his sister Eva Romanová. As ice dancers, they became four-time World Figure Skating C ...

(1943–1972), winner of four consecutive titles (1962, 1963, 1964, and 1965) in

ice dancing Ice dance (sometimes referred to as ice dancing) is a discipline of figure skating that historically draws from ballroom dancing. It joined the World Figure Skating Championships in 1952, and became a Winter Olympic Games medal sport in 1976. A ...

at the

World Figure Skating Championships The World Figure Skating Championships are an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union (ISU). The first World Championships were held in 1896 in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and they have been held e ...

with his sister Eva * Jake Madden (1865–1948), Scottish footballer and later Manager of

SK Slavia Praha Sportovní klub Slavia Praha – fotbal (Sports Club Slavia Prague – Football, ), commonly known as Slavia Praha or Slavia Prague, is a Czech professional football club in Prague. Founded in 1892, they are the second most successful club in t ...

for 25 years

In popular culture

Part of the movie ''

Bad Company Bad Company were an English rock supergroup formed in London in 1973 by singer Paul Rodgers and drummer Simon Kirke (both ex- Free), guitarist Mick Ralphs (ex- Mott the Hoople) and bassist Boz Burrell (ex-King Crimson). Kirke was the only m ...

'' was filmed in Olšany Cemeteries.