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ul. Powązkowska 14, Śródmieście, Warszawa
Powązki Cemetery, known as Old Powązki, was founded in 1792 by the Szymanowski family and is the oldest cemetery in the capital still in use. It covers more than forty hectares on Powązkowska Street. The original layout of the complex was designed by Dominik Merlini, architect to King Stanisław August Poniatowski.
Powązki is a pantheon of Polish culture and science. The Avenue of the Distinguished holds the graves of, among others, Władysław Reymont, Jan Kiepura and the aviators Franciszek Żwirko and Stanisław Wigura. The nearby catacombs are the resting place of Czesław Niemen and Irena Jarocka. Further quarters hold the graves of Fryderyk Chopin's parents, Zbigniew Herbert, Krzysztof Kieślowski, Irena Sendlerowa and Jan Nowak-Jeziorański, and the symbolic grave of mayor Stefan Starzyński.
The whole site is strictly protected as a heritage monument — an open-air museum of sepulchral sculpture with chapels, catacombs and tombstones spanning two centuries. An hour is enough for a walk along the main avenues, though it is worth setting aside more time.
