Something is fascinating about old cemeteries. Old, overgrown stones with blurred inscriptions hide the secrets of people resting in their shadow. The inevitability of fate felt in such places always brings me to "here and now." It encourages reflection.
That is why I like to come to the oldest cemetery in Krakow - the Rakowicki Cemetery, which was open 220 years ago. The first burial took place in 1803; the deceased was a young, 18-year-old married woman... it's so meaningful and sad.
City residents and tourists very eagerly visit Rakowicki Cemetery. It houses about 75 thousand graves, most of which are monuments of funerary art. It is a kind of national cultural monument. Many Polish artists, scientists, activists, politicians, and representatives of eminent families are buried here. We can also find participants in the struggle for Polish independence - from the national-liberation uprisings of the 19th century to the Second World War. The very reading of the inscriptions on the tombstones is a fantastic history lesson, but not only.
In many cases, it is the tragic fate of ordinary citizens enchanted in a few sentences. Like for example, a 25-year-old doctor who died in the 1960s saving a patient. Or the father and his eight-year-old daughter who tragically died in 1915. That's all that we know reading the inscriptions - we have to imagine the rest.
Many tombstones are the work of famous architects and sculptors. I like the sculptures of figures the most. There are so many of them that I find a new one I have never seen before every time I visit this place.
Children's figures, mostly placed on children's graves, particularly moves me.
For me, these aren't just dead stones. Looking at them, I perceive the sculptor's emotions, despair of the family, fear of death, hope.
I try to look into the sculptures' eyes, I ask them in my mind about various things, but they give me no clear answer. I will leave this place again knowing only one thing - that I will also die one day. At this place, it doesn't seem so frightening. Maybe then I'll find out everything?
The Rakowicki Cemetery is different at any time of the year and day, but it is always just as beautiful and atmospheric. It sounds strange to say about a place like this: perfect for a walk... But it is. Time slows down here, and I can also slow down. The dead are in no hurry anymore, and I can only accompany them for a moment in their eternity.
Autumn inspires reflection, doesn't it?
