Ironworkers' Cemetery in Gliwice

The Ironworkers' Cemetery (Cmentarz Hutniczy) in Gliwice is a small, historic necropolis founded in 1808 by the management of the Royal Cast-Iron Foundry. It lies on Robotnicza Street in the Politechnika district and since the early 21st century it has been gradually restored through voluntary work.

A factory cemetery

The site, covering 0.57 ha, was laid out near the foundry on a rectangular plan. The main avenue was opened by a gate guarded by cast-iron lions after Johann G. Schadow, and at its end stood a Neoclassical chapel. Similar lions from the same model stand today in front of the Municipal Palm House. The cemetery was famous for sculptures and grave decorations cast at the works. It was multi-denominational: mainly Evangelicals were buried here, but also Catholics.

Who rests here

People who served the industry of Gliwice and Upper Silesia were buried here, among them John Baildon, regarded as the father of modern metallurgy, Johann Schulze, for many years director of the foundry, its first pattern-maker Christoph Mendel, Count Ferdinand Einsiedel and the sculptor Theodor Erdmann Kalide.

The 1922 explosion and destruction

On Palm Sunday, 9 April 1922, weapons and explosives were hidden in the tomb of Count Einsiedel. During a search by French soldiers an explosion occurred in which between 18 and 22 people died, and the tomb was rebuilt in 1925 as a cemetery chapel. The last burial took place on 10 May 1949. Later the cemetery fell into ruin: German inscriptions were chiselled off, gravestones were destroyed, cast-iron elements were melted down, and the chapel was demolished in the 1960s.

Restoration

Since 2002 the cemetery has been rescued by a group of enthusiasts, who since 2004 have operated as the Association for the Cultural Heritage of Gliwice "Gliwice Metamorphoses". The site was tidied up, surrounded with a new wall, a gate recalling the pre-war one was built and the cast-iron cross in the main avenue was restored. In 2012 the gravestone of John Baildon returned to its place. Plaques with biographies of those buried and the former location of graves, where it could be established, were placed on the walls.

Practical information

• Address: ul. Robotnicza in Gliwice, Politechnika district. The cemetery is owned by the municipality.
• The site is closed for burials. Access hours and rules of entry should be checked with the association or the city office.
• Information plaques on the walls make it possible to see the cemetery without a guide.