St Lawrence's Cemetery in Wrocław

St Lawrence's Cemetery in Wrocław is a Roman Catholic necropolis covering 4.3 hectares on the site of the former settlement of Rybaki, administered by the parish of St John the Baptist.

Founding of the cemetery

St Lawrence's Cathedral Cemetery was founded in 1866, when the earlier parish cemetery had run out of free space. It originally had a rectangular shape, divided into four quarters by avenues running east-west and north-south.

Expansion and the entrance gate

In the 1870s the cemetery was fenced and a brick entrance gate bearing the inscription St. Laurentius was built on the side of Bujwida Street, preserved to this day. The cemetery was enlarged twice, to the south and to the north, reaching its present layout of nine irregular quarters.

Post-war changes

After 1945 most of the German gravestones were removed, and post-war residents of Wrocław were buried in their place. In 1962 the cemetery was closed to new burials, allowing only interments in plots purchased earlier. In the 1970s a church dedicated to St Lawrence was built next to the cemetery, designed by Zenon Prętczyński.

Notable burials

Buried in the cemetery are, among others, Ludwik Hirszfeld, Henryk Worcell, Barbara Piasecka Johnson and Włodzimierz Szomański. There is also a symbolic grave of the mountaineer Wanda Rutkiewicz. The necropolis is the burial place of Wrocław's auxiliary bishops and nuns from various religious orders.

Nearby

Nearby lie Szczytnicki Park, the Japanese Garden in Wrocław and the Centennial Hall.

Practical information

• Address: ul. Bujwida 51, Wrocław, Ołbin district
• Entrance from Bujwida Street, through the preserved brick gate bearing the inscription St. Laurentius
• Closed to new burials since 1962, open for visiting as a historic necropolis
• It is worth checking opening hours before a visit, for example with the administrator, the parish of St John the Baptist