Polish interment practices...cemetary burial.

I recently visited Poland, north and east of Warsaw, trying to find evidences of relatives who had not emigrated to the USA at the turn of the twentieth century. In addition to searching civil records, etc., I also visited several cemetaries on a search for names and dates (and photos, in some cases). There were very few old gravesites in cemetaries in the "countryside", that is, earlier than about 1918. I realize that two World Wars swept over this ground, but I also got the impression that it was common practice to put graves right over pre-existing sites, especially if older graves were not "kept up". The folks I asked about this in Poland did not seem to have a ready answer, even in one mortuary establishment! Was this common practice, and is that why cemetary scoping for old relatives was so barren of results?

one is left in peace for 10 or 15 years and then it's up to the church. (i think)

Yes, if a family doesn`t pay a fee every 20 years or so, the old grave is emptied and a new lodger is brought.

Thank you, you have confirmed my suspicions. I wish I had known of this site before we left for Poland. In the States, we have gravesites undisturbed for decades although you may not be able to read the inscriptions any more! Of course, they are municipally maintained, not by subscription. My fault for being "provincial". My search continues...

We did find some interesting leads, though.

States are not Poland. Customs differ.

But there are also cemeteries where nothing changes for centuries:


Polish municipal taxes are very low compared to Western ones. In such a case, it is more fair when a family takes care of their graves, isn`t it? What is the sense in maintaining a forlorn grave?


Don`t be ironic about Polish customs. Just accept them as they are. If you can`t, just leave and never come back.

Pawian, do you know if there's any ability to pay "forever" for a plot?

It seems absolutely dreadful to me, knowing that one day, your grave can be torn up if your family forgets about it.

I will try to google it. But, to be honest, if I were you, I wouldn`t worry about my grave after I die.

Not where population density is a problem.

My Dad had the same issue about 15 years ago when his Mother's grave (Koblenz, Germany) came up for 'renewal' 20 years after her death in 1976. The warning letter never got to him as he'd moved to England about 10 years before. At the 11th hour (and yes, hours were how tight it actually got) he managed to sort something. Close call.

I don't visit cemetaries.. I figure I will be there long enough. :- (

You won`t be alone, you can count on us, Pete.

Thank you my man.. It will be nice to have friends in death.

Shall we meet in Hell or Heaven?


A cemetery with graves marked for liquidation.

oops, even historical tombstones have been marked.

And what is done with the remains and the tombstone? What do the words in red mean in English?

'Grave earmarked for liquidation'

It means nobody is paying for the plot any more. The headline in the article you cited means 'Stickers on graves are barbaric'.

At least they didn't paint a big red x on them, as one village priest did a couple of years ago.

Around here (Warmia-Mazury) a number of old cemeteries were flattened in the communist days (usually German/Evangelic) and turned into parks etc. That said, in many village cemeteries there are still many German graves. In some other places I've been (Suwałki, Podlasie) there are large, multi-faith cemeteries from well over a century back.

However, in many places there are still old plots. What has happened in some places is that the old headstones have been collected and turned into a kind of monument.

It's also worth noting that a few decades of Polish winters doesn't always treat a gravestone well, so they can be harder to read (if they still survuve) that one twice the age in Britain, for example.

In Western Poland too. A strange thing to do in a small village.

I was thinking more in the cities, like Olsztyn. There is a park on one side of the town which used to be the evangelic cemetery. There is also a German and Russian war cemetery which was destroyed but has recently been restored, if only symbollically. There are a few WW1 cemeteries in small villages which were destroyed but have been restored recently (containing Russian and German graves)

That said, in a few villages I have been the German cemeteries have been left to go to ruin, if not "helped" a little, but are now being cleaned up in a few places (and not in others).