Old cemetery (Stary Cmentarz) description and photos - Poland: Rzeszow (Topic)

Old cemetery (Stary Cmentarz) description and photos - Poland: Rzeszow. Detailed information about the attraction. Description, photographs and a map showing the nearest significant objects. The title in English is Stary Cmentarz.

Photo and description

The cemetery in Rzeszow is the oldest city cemetery, covering an area of 3.65 hectares. At present, the old cemetery has 622 graves.

Rzeszow, from August 5, 1772, together with the entire southeastern part of Poland, became part of the Habsburg monarchy, after which Emperor Joseph II issued a decree prohibiting the creation of new burials in within the city. In January 1784, the municipality was given 4 weeks to find suitable places for the construction of new cemeteries.

The old cemetery was founded in 1792 on the site of an ancient abandoned cemetery. The area for new burials has been increased threefold. Over the years, the number of inhabitants increased rapidly (1785 - 1661 inhabitants, 1900 - 17488 inhabitants), so the cemetery was expanded in 1879 and reached the banks of the river. In January 1910, by decision of the city council, it was closed for further burials.

Despite the official closure, during the Second World War, the cemetery again became a burial site. Peaceful victims of the German bombing of 1939, as well as the liberation fighters who died in 1944, were buried here. During the war, German troops raided the cemetery in search of metal gravestones and gratings that they used for military needs.

In the post-war years, the old cemetery was repeatedly vandalized and destroyed, and therefore, the local authorities there was even an idea to turn the cemetery into a city park. Fortunately, such a plan remained unfulfilled. In 1957, the old cemetery was closed again, and 11 years later it was declared a historical site.

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Topic: Old cemetery (Stary Cmentarz) description and photos - Poland: Rzeszow.