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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Cmentarz Sapieżyński w Stanisławowie

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This article presents the history of one of the largest Polish cemeteries in the Eastern Borderlands. Thousands of Poles, including artists, poets, writers, sculptors, prominent politicians, local government officials and soldiers fighting for Polish independence in various uprisings, were buried in the Sapieżyński Cemetery during its 200-year-long history. The necropolis was closed down by the Soviet authorities in 1980, and the entire area was bulldozed. Crushed tombstones were transported outside the city, and a theater building and a hotel were developed on the site. The paper recreates the cemetery’s history and tells the life stories of the most prominent individuals who were laid to rest in Stanisławów based on historical photographs and literature. This is the first extensive study of the Sapieżyński Cemetery which played an important role in Polish history.