One of the most visited sights of Prague is Olshansky cemetery. It is located in the third administrative district of the city. Often, before choosing a tour to the Czech capital, tourists specify whether visiting this place is included in the excursion program. And this is not surprising: there are many mysterious and mysterious corners where gloomy art is intertwined with the whisper of thousands of lives lived.
The terrible plague: the history of the cemetery
The history of this place originates in 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 allocate the territory of a large garden under a quarantine cemetery. This decision was dictated by life itself: in 1680 a terrible epidemic of plague hit the city. It was simply dangerous to bury the dead from her in cemeteries located at churches.
A new wave of epidemic spread over Prague in 1715. The raging infection claimed more and more lives. The victims found their last refuge in this territory. Later, in 1796, Emperor Joseph II announced - Olshansky cemetery should be permanently operational. Here the inhabitants of two parts of Prague were buried: the Old and New Towns. For 200 years this place has been a haven for both ordinary people and prominent personalities. Ian Palah, Sophia 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. The 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 is surprising in its size. Its area is more than 50 hectares! According to official sources, 112 thousand people are buried here: 65 thousand ordinary burials, 25 thousand tombs, six columbaria (plots with funeral urns) with twenty thousand cremated, two hundred chapel graves. However, according to unofficial data, the number of people buried is about two million. That is, there are more people in the necropolis than living in Prague itself today.
System
A system that allows you to navigate this vast territory appeared in 1835. New sites that appeared in the cemetery began to be denoted by Roman numerals. Now the necropolis unites 12 cemeteries, you can enter it from three sides. In addition, the complex of this cemetery includes two ritual halls for farewell at once. Both of them were built at the end of the XIX century.
The Neighborhood of Death and Art
The necropolis is famous not only for its impressive area, but also for its monuments, sculptures, tombs and tombstones. A substantial part of them dates back to the 18th-19th centuries, and therefore is considered the cultural heritage of the country.
The gaze of tourists rivets a tombstone, depicting a tree struck by lightning. The work of the talented Czech modernist Frantisek Rose is located next to the main entrance. Here you can also find sculptures by such masters as Ignaz Platzer, Vaclav Prahner, Frantisek Bilek. The works in different styles: from classicism to baroque.
Famous people buried in Olshansky cemetery
The list of famous people resting in the land of the Prague cemetery is long. For example, Vasily Ivanovich Nemirovich-Danchenko found peace here. The elder brother of the famous theater figure was a writer, journalist and traveler. He began to print at the end of 1860: his artistic and ethnographic essays were in "Domestic Notes", "Herald of Europe" and other publications. In total, over 60 volumes of his works have been published during his creative career. Vasily Nemirovich-Danchenko could not accept the revolution and emigrated. The writer died in Prague in September 1936.
At a time politically difficult for Russia, the writer Arkady Averchenko, opera singer Vasily Levitsky, Countess Sofia Tolstaya and other figures of politics, science and culture left the country. They are also buried in the Olshansky cemetery. Sheltered the necropolis and famous Czechs. Here are the graves of the poet Joseph Jungman, the politician Karel Kramarg, the writer Vaclav Klitsperu. In addition, Jan Palach, a student who subjected himself to self-immolation, is buried here. It happened in 1969. So the young man protested against the Soviet occupation.
Calm in the cemetery and the military. In one land are the bodies of representatives of four Russian armies at once - 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 world wars.
The first president of the Carpathian Ukraine, Augustin Voloshin, also rests in this Prague cemetery. He began active political activity in 1919. He founded the right-wing People's 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 to be the president of Ukraine, which at that time was occupied by the Germans. Augustine Voloshin died in Moscow, in Butyrskaya prison.
Kafka's grave
The necropolis consists of three main parts. One sector is reserved for the burial of Czechs, the second - for Orthodox citizens, and the third are the graves of Jews. By the way, Franz Kafka was buried here . His grave is located on site 21. To find it, you just need to go along the wall.
It is worth noting that although Kafka wrote in German, he was the true son of Prague. He lived in the Czech capital, visited her often, and was also often harassed. Franz Kafka spent a significant part of his life near the Old Town Square: here he grew up, received education, worked, and met with 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!
The emergence of the Orthodox site in the cemetery was promoted by Archpriest Nikolai Ryzhikov. He was rector of the Church of St. Nicholas, located on 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 Kramarzh did not stand aside. In general, it turned out that the money collected would be enough not just for a small chapel, but for a whole temple! Different people worked on the creation — those with power and knowledge, ordinary citizens. They worked for free, creating not just the Assumption Church, but a symbol of solidarity and gratitude to the Russians who hospitably accepted them on a foreign land. The Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is made in compliance with the motives of the Pskov and Novgorod ancient architecture. It is a kind of monument to all Russian people who died on a foreign side. The first rector of this temple was Bishop Sergiy Korolev.
Sad girl
During the day, the Olshansky cemetery is full of tourists, at night this necropolis, like all the others, is silent and deserted. There is no bustle here: neither tourists nor the townspeople look in 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 it like this: dark long flowing hair, a dress that looks like a monastic. The girl either tells something, or sings a sad song. Those who at least once heard her say that tears are coming to her eyes from this melody, her 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 walks slowly through the night graveyard, bending over the gravestones of those who died from the plague. Her sighs are barely audible, the rustle of steps is indistinguishable with gusts of wind. A fragile, almost transparent figure glides between sculptures and gravestones. Invariably, the girl moves to the same place - the crypt of Olshansky. They say that her lover is buried here.
How to get to the Prague cemetery?
From the city center to the necropolis is only three kilometers. The Olshansky cemetery is located at Vinohradská 1835/153. The most convenient way to get there is by using 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.