Evangelical Cemetery on Francuska Street in Katowice

The Evangelical cemetery on Francuska Street is an active necropolis of the Evangelical Augsburg parish of Katowice, opened in 1884. It lies in the Śródmieście district of Katowice, between Francuska, Powstańców Śląskich and Damrota streets. It is entered in the heritage register and borders the Catholic cemetery on Francuska Street.

History

The cemetery was founded as the parish's second cemetery and an extension of the cemetery on Damrota Street, which had operated since 1856. That older site was destroyed and closed down in the 1950s and 1960s. In the 1970s a sector was set aside in the cemetery for burials of the Catholic parish of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Those buried

Buried here are people linked with the history and life of Katowice and Upper Silesia: among others Kazimierz Popiołek, historian and first rector of the University of Silesia, Michał Scipio del Campo, engineer and pioneer of Polish aviation, the writer Wilhelm Szewczyk and Robert Zimmermann, a building contractor. On the grounds stands a memorial dedicated to the Siberian exiles, and a cemetery well has survived.

Nearby

The cemetery lies close to the city centre, not far from the Cathedral of Christ the King and the Silesian Theatre.

Practical information

• Location: Katowice-Śródmieście, between Francuska, Powstańców Śląskich and Damrota streets.
• The cemetery is active, so behaviour appropriate to a burial place is expected.
• It is managed by the Evangelical Augsburg parish in Katowice, where the rules of entry can be checked.