The 50th anniversary gathering continues at the Povezki cemetery. Famous artists, journalists, politicians and reenactors in historical costumes raise money to save historical tombstones.
For the first time collections were held in Stare Powązki in 1974 on the initiative of Jerzy Waldorf. The campaign has been going on for 50 years and this year it was included in the National Register of Intangible Cultural Heritage. Thanks to the money collected during all the collections, more than 1700 historical tombstones and churches have been repaired. This year's collection will last until November 3.
Actress Maja Komorovska has been collecting money in Povezki for 50 years, only missing the act once when she was involved in a film shot abroad. – This was Waldorf's great idea. I remember that he always called us on November 1st and called us “graveyard stars”. People who come with children are the most encouraging. Memory retention is very important. It is also valuable to be able to pause for a moment in the hustle and bustle of everyday life, Komorowska said on Friday at the Povezki cemetery.
50th collection at the old Powezki cemetery in Warsaw
One of the oldest necropolises
As the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage reminds, Powezki is one of the oldest and most famous necropolises in Poland, built on land donated by the Szymanowski family as a response to the closure of traditional burials within cities, in churches or hospitals. “Since the 19th century, it has become the shrine of Warsaw's elite, including artists, writers, soldiers and politicians. During the partition, it served as the National Pantheon,” he added.
Warsaw residents on their way to the graves of their loved ones at the old Powezki cemetery PAP/Paweł Supernak
In 1925, an avenue of honor was built along the southern wall of the catacombs. The row of graves on the avenue opened the grave of Vladyslav Reymont, the author of the work “Peasants” – winner of the Nobel Prize in literature. Here is the symbolic grave of Stefan Starzynski, the pre-war president of Warsaw, the heroic defender of the capital in September 1939, who was killed by the Germans. President Ignacy Mościcki and leaders of the Polish secret state also have symbolic graves here. Pilots Franciszek Zvirko and Stanislav Vigura have their graves. Artists, theater and cinema workers, poets and others are buried here. Stefan Jarac, Jozef Wegrzyn, Jadwiga Smosarska, Kalina Jedrusik, Jozef Elsner, Stanislaw Moniuszko, Jan Kiepura, Leopold Staff, Boleslaw Leshmian.
After the Second World War, many monuments of the old Povezki cemetery were destroyed. Director of the National Museum of Warsaw, art expert prof. Stanislav Lorenz tried to interest the Ministry of Culture and Arts with the situation of the necropolis. When he got no response, he turned to music critic Jerzy Waldorf to organize a social committee to save the cemetery.
Main photo source: PAP/Paweł Supernak
