There are currently over 40 cemeteries in Wrocław, including 6 municipal ones. The remaining ones are parish cemeteries managed by Roman Catholic parishes. In addition, there are two large Jewish cemeteries, one of which – at Ślężna Street – is a branch of the Wrocław City Museum and functions as the Museum of Cemetery Art. There are also four war cemeteries in Wrocław. Most of the currently existing necropolises are pre-war.
NECROPOLISES ESTABLISHED BEFORE 1945
Some Catholic necropolises which also operated before 1945 are still operating as cemeteries today (as of July 2023). These are:
- cemetery of the parish of the Holy Spirit at Bardzka Street – before 1945 it was a necropolis of the parish of St. Henry
- cemetery of the parish of St. James and St. Christopher at Gorlicka Street in Psie Pole
- St. Lawrence Cemetery at Odona Bujwida Street – necropolis of the cathedral parish
- cemetery in Księże Małe – necropolis of the parish of the Blessed Virgin Mary Help of Christians
- southern part of the former New Cemetery of St. Maurice – necropolis of the parish of St. Maurice (in the years 1971-1994 new burials were suspended)
- church cemetery of the parish of St. Michael the Archangel in Muchobór Wielki
- church cemetery of the parish of St. Lawrence in Żerniki
- church cemetery of the parish of St. Hedwig in Leśnica
Currently there are no Protestant cemeteries in Wrocław. In the 1960s and 1970s, most of the cemetery fields associated with this denomination were levelled and re-developed. A few became cemetery areas of Catholic parishes, and one of them became a municipal necropolis. The existing, mostly still being used, former Protestant necropolises currently include:
- Catholic cemetery of the parish of the Holy Family in Sępolno – previously the necropolis of the Lutheran parish of Martin Luther
- Catholic cemetery of the parish of St. Anna in Pracze Odrzańskie – used by the local Protestant parish
- Catholic cemetery of the parish of St. Hyacinth in Swojczyce – parish necropolis of the Protestant residents of Swojczyce
- closed cemetery at Krzycka Street administered by the Catholic parish of the Holy Trinity – necropolis of the Protestant parish of the Saviour, later of St. John
- Catholic cemetery of the parish of St. George at Brochowska Street – previously the necropolis administered by the Protestant commune in Brochów
- municipal cemetery in Leśnica at Trzmielowicka Street – previously the necropolis of the Protestant parish in Leśnica.
Among the necropolises established on the initiative of the city authorities before 1945, the following cemetery fields are currently still in use:
- part (section II) of the municipal cemetery in Grabiszyn
- municipal cemetery in Osobowice
- Catholic cemetery of the parish of the Motherhood of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Pilczyce – formerly the communal cemetery in Pilczyce
- Catholic cemetery of the parish of St. Agnes in Maślice – formerly the communal cemetery in Maślice.
Two burial fields of the Wrocław Mosaic community have also been preserved:
- Old Jewish Cemetery at Ślężna Street – currently the Museum of Cemetery Art (branch of the Wrocław City Museum)
- Jewish cemetery at Lotnicza Street – still being used by the Wrocław commune.
CEMETERIES ESTABLISHED AFTER WORLD WAR II
See the text by Kamilla Jasińska titled Cemeteries in the post-war landscape of Wrocław (Cmentarze w powojennym pejzażu Wrocławia)!
You can learn more about individual cemeteries by clicking on the links below or by searching for a specific cemetery in the menu at the top of the page.
Written by: dr Marek Burak
Edited by: Kamilla Jasińska
Translated by: Fabryka Tłumaczeń