The Powązki Cemetery in Warsaw was officially opened on 4 November 1790, exactly 235 years ago. It was established back in the reign of King Stanisław August Poniatowski, so it is one of the oldest necropolises in the entire country. For more than two centuries, people who contributed to the history of Poland in the broadest sense of the term have rested here. Today, the Powązki cemetery is a place of exceptional cultural and symbolic value, and thanks to the activities of the Social Committee for the Care of Old Powązki Cemetery, it still retains its historic character and the rank of a national pantheon.
Powązki – origins and founders
The cemetery was founded on the initiative of Melchior Szymanowski, who donated the land for a Catholic necropolis. The choice of location was due to the fact that at the end of the 18th century cemeteries were being moved outside the cities to solve sanitary problems associated with overcrowding and excessive burials in the centre. This increased the risk of epidemics and also took away a lot of valuable land in often attractive locations. The official opening took place on 4 November 1790 and the necropolis was consecrated on 20 May 1792 in the presence of the King. In the same year, the church of St Charles Borromeo was erected next to the cemetery.
Spatial changes
Originally, the cemetery was just over two hectares in size and was located well outside the boundaries of Warsaw at the time. Initially, the bourgeoisie was reluctant to accept burials so far from Śródmieście (City Centre), but after the closure of the cemeteries at the Swietokrzyski and Koszyki churches in the 1830s, Powązki became the main burial place for Catholics from the left bank of the city. In the following decades, the necropolis gradually expanded, and the expanding capital eventually absorbed the area. Today, the Old Powazki Cemetery covers an area of 43 hectares.
The Church of St. Karol Boromeusz at Powązki
The temple at the Pow±zki cemetery was extended twice. Between 1847 and 1850, the nave was extended and a sacristy was added, while between 1890 and 1895, the architect Józef Pius Dziekoński gave the building its present shape. He designed the plan of a Roman cross and crowned the whole with a cupola inspired by the temple of St. Charles Borromeo in Vienna. The interior was decorated with paintings by Zdzisław Jasiński, and the whole is today one of the most valuable examples of 19th century sacred architecture in Warsaw.
Catacombs at Powązki
One of the most recognisable elements of the cemetery are the catacombs from the end of the 18th century, located along its western border. The building was built according to a design by Dominick Merlini and from the very beginning it served a representative function. In its basement, sepulchral niches were placed, and in the arcaded façade, chapels were built and epitaph plates were installed. The catacombs initially formed the main compositional axis of the cemetery and followed classicist patterns.
Development of the Powązki Cemetery in Warsaw
In the 19th century, funeral ceremonies for distinguished citizens of the city turned into patriotic manifestations, despite prohibitions by the Tsarist authorities. A special place of remembrance became the grave of five of those killed during a demonstration at Krakowskie Przedmieście in 1861. In the following decades, participants of national uprisings, soldiers, artists and scholars were laid to rest in the cemetery. Towards the end of the 19th century, after the opening of the Bródno cemetery, Powązki began to take on an elite character. In 1912, a military cemetery was created, which, after the restoration of independence in 1918, became the burial place for soldiers and officers of the Polish Army.
The Avenue of the Deserving at Powązki and famous artists
In 1925, after the death of Władysław Reymont, the Avenue of the Deserved was marked out by the southern wall of the catacombs. Among those buried there are Maria Rodziewiczówna, Stefan Jaracz, Leopold Staff, Maria Dąbrowska and Stefan Wiechecki. The cemetery also contains the graves of, among others, Henryk Wieniawski, Witold Lutosławski, Jan Kiepura, Bolesław Leśmian, Nina Andrycz, Zbigniew Herbert, Krzysztof Komeda, Kalina Jędrusik, Agnieszka Osiecka, Violetta Villas and Krzysztof Kieślowski.
Powązki. Works of architects and sculptors
The cemetery is also a place where outstanding artists have left works of their chisel. Among the authors of sculptures and monuments are Andrzej Pruszyński, Bolesław Syrewicz, Stanisław Ostrowski, Barbara Zbożyna or Xawery Dunikowski, as well as architects Józef Dziekoński and Bohdan Pniewski. As Marcin Święcicki, chairman of the Social Committee for the Care of Old Powazki Cemetery, emphasises, it is at this necropolis that the largest collection of Polish open-air sculpture can be found.
The Powązki cemetery appeal – social care and Waldorff’s work
The historic necropolis did not escape destruction during World War II. During combat and other activities, many valuable and beautiful tombstones were damaged, and the catacomb building was hit by bombs. After the conflict, the cemetery was renovated, but the condition of many tombstones still left much to be desired. In 1974, on the initiative of Jerzy Waldorff, the Social Committee for the Care of Old Powązki Cemetery was formed. Since then, fund-raisers have been organised every year at the beginning of November, with the participation of artists, musicians and journalists. The proceeds from these collections go towards the conservation of historic monuments and tombs. In the 50 years of the committee’s activities, some 1,700 gravestones have been restored, including many in the Avenue of the Deserving and Catacomb Avenue. In recent years, the graves of people associated with Frederic Chopin, including his parents, teachers and relatives, have also been conserved. In 2024, the Old Powazki fundraising was added to the national list of intangible cultural heritage.
Powązki – heritage and significance
Today, Old Powązki is much more than a historic cemetery. It is also a national pantheon, a memorial to over a million people buried over 235 years. There are more than 70,000 graves there! In 1965 the necropolis, together with the church and catacombs, was entered in the register of monuments, and in 2014 it was declared a monument of history by the President of Poland.
Source: PAP, warszawa.um.pl
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