One of the most visited attractions in Prague is the Olsany Cemetery. It is located in the third administrative district of the city. Often, before choosing a tour to the capital of the Czech Republic, tourists specify whether a visit to this place is included in the excursion program. And this is not surprising: there are many mysterious and mysterious corners here, where gloomy art is intertwined with the whispers of thousands of lived lives.
A terrible plague: the story of the cemetery
The history of this place dates back to the Middle Ages. Then the village of Olshany was located on this place, then a farm belonging to the monastery was opened. Later, the authorities decided to turn the territory of the large garden into a quarantine cemetery. This decision was dictated by life itself: after all, in 1680 a terrible plague epidemic hit the city. It was simply dangerous to bury those who died from it in cemeteries located near churches.
A new wave of the epidemic covered Prague in 1715. The raging infection claimed more and more lives. The dead found their last shelter in this territory. Later, in 1796, Emperor Joseph II announced that the Olshansky cemetery should be permanent. Here the inhabitants of two parts of Prague were buried: the Old and the New Town. For 200 years this place has been a haven for both ordinary people and outstanding personalities. Jan Palach, Sofia Tolstaya, Vasily Levitsky, Arkady Averchenko and many others found peace here.
The main point of tourist routes
Today it is safe to call this cemetery the most visited attraction in Prague. Graves of people who wrote history, picturesque corners, gothic tombstones and the ghost of the Sad Girl - the necropolis has something to surprise.
Olshansky cemetery surprises with its size. Its area is more than 50 hectares! According to official sources, 112,000 people are buried here: 65,000 ordinary burials, 25,000 tombs, six columbariums (areas with burial urns) with twenty thousand cremated ones, and two hundred graves-chapels. However, according to unofficial data, the number of those buried is about two million. That is, there are more people in the necropolis than live in Prague itself today.
System
The system that allows you to navigate this vast territory appeared in 1835. New plots that appeared in the cemetery began to be marked with Roman numerals. Now the necropolis unites 12 cemeteries, you can enter it from three sides. In addition, the complex of this cemeterytwo ritual halls enter at once for parting. Both were built at the end of the 19th century.
Neighbourhood of death and art
The necropolis is famous not only for its impressive area, but also for monuments, sculptures, tombs and headstones. A significant part of them dates back to the 18th-19th centuries, and therefore is considered the cultural heritage of the country.
Tourists are drawn to a tombstone depicting a tree struck by lightning. The work of the talented Czech modernist Frantisek Rous is located next to the main entrance. You can also find sculptures by such masters as Ignaz Platzer, Vaclav Prachner, Frantisek Bilek. Made in different styles: from classicism to baroque.
Famous people buried at the Olshansky cemetery
The list of famous people buried in the ground of the Prague cemetery is long. For example, Vasily Ivanovich Nemirovich-Danchenko found peace here. The elder brother of the famous theatrical figure was a writer, journalist and traveler. He began to print at the end of the 1860s: his artistic and ethnographic essays were in Otechestvennye Zapiski, Vestnik Evropy and other publications. In total, more than 60 volumes of his works were published during his creative career. Vasily Nemirovich-Danchenko could not accept the revolution and emigrated. The writer died in Prague - in September 1936.
In a politically difficult time for Russia, the writer Arkady Averchenko, opera singer Vasily Levitsky, Countess Sofia Tolstaya and others left the countryfigures of politics, science and culture. They are also buried at the Olshansky cemetery. Sheltered the necropolis and famous Czechs. Here are the graves of the poet Josef Jungman, the politician Karel Kramař, the writer Vaclav Klicperu. In addition, Jan Palach, a student who set himself on fire, is buried here. It happened in 1969. So the young man protested against the Soviet occupation.
The soldiers are buried in the cemetery. In one land lie the bodies of representatives of four armies of Russia at once - the Red, White, Imperial and Liberation. In addition, here are the graves of those who died during the battles with Napoleon and fell during the fighting of the world wars.
The first president of Carpatho-Ukraine Augustin Voloshin also rests in this Prague cemetery. He began active political activity in 1919. He founded the right-wing Popular Christian Party, which he led from 1923 to 1939. By the way, it is known that Voloshin was in contact with the government of Nazi Germany. He offered himself for the role of president of Ukraine, which at that time was occupied by the Germans. Avgustin Voloshin died in Moscow, in the Butyrka prison.
Kafka's grave
The necropolis consists of three main parts. One sector is reserved for the burial of Czechs, the second is for Orthodox citizens, and the third contains the graves of Jews. Here, by the way, Franz Kafka was buried. His grave is located on plot 21. To find it, you just need to go along the wall.
It is worth noting that although Kafka wrote in German, he was a true son ofPrague. He lived in the Czech capital, visited it often and was just as often subjected to persecution. Franz Kafka spent a significant part of his life near the Old Town Square: here he grew up, got an education, worked, met friends.
Orthodox funeral
Cultural and political figures who emigrated to Prague after the revolution were buried in separate areas, observing all Orthodox rites. For this, an Orthodox church was erected here!
Archpriest Nikolai Ryzhikov contributed to the emergence of an Orthodox section at the cemetery. He was the rector of the Church of St. Nicholas, located on the Old Town Square. Later, Nikolai Ryzhikov began raising funds for the construction of the chapel. However, this idea had to be abandoned. They started talking about it again in 1923 - then the cemetery in Prague ceased to accommodate a large number of burials. Many people responded to the call for help in raising funds, the Serbian people made a significant contribution, and the first Prime Minister of Czechoslovakia, Karel Kramář, did not stand aside. In general, it turned out that the collected money would be enough not just for a small chapel, but for a whole temple! Worked on the creation of different people - with power and knowledge, ordinary citizens. They worked for free, creating not just the Assumption Church, but a symbol of solidarity and gratitude of Russians to those who hospitably received them in a foreign land. The Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary was made in compliance with the motives of Pskov and Novgorod ancient architecture. It is a kind of monument to allRussian people who died on a foreign side. The first rector of this church was Bishop Sergiy Korolev.
Sad girl
During the day the Olshansky cemetery is full of tourists, but at night this necropolis, like all the others, is silent and deserted. There is no turmoil here: neither tourists nor townspeople look here after sunset. Only the Sad Girl breaks the buried peace: they say that on the moonlit night of the month she appears in the oldest part of the cemetery - on Plague Square. Eyewitnesses describe her something like this: dark long flowing hair, a dress similar to a monastic one. The girl either tells something, or sings a sad song. Those who have heard it at least once say that tears come to the eyes from this melody, the heart is filled with incredible sadness. And those who managed to look into the face of this Sad girl assure that this face belongs to a person who knew both great grief and great happiness.
This girl slowly walks through the churchyard at night, bending over the gravestones of those who died from the plague. Her sighs are barely audible, the rustle of steps is indistinguishable from the gusts of wind. A fragile, almost transparent figure glides between sculptures and gravestones. Invariably, the girl moves towards the same place - the Olshansky crypt. It is said that her lover is buried here.
How to get to the Prague cemetery?
From the city center to the necropolis, only three kilometers. The Olshansky cemetery is located at Vinohradská1835/153. The most convenient way to get there is with the help of the Prague metro - you need to get to the Flora station. Those who want to enjoy the views of the city along the way should choose tram number 5, 10, 13, 51. You need to get to the stop Olšanské hřbitovy.
