It has a special historical and artistic value because of the tombstones existing there, including the chapel of Tatiana Maksimovna Andreevna from 1904.

History

The first Orthodox cemetery in Piotrków was established in 1780. It was situated at the main avenue in the city centre, to the west of the Old Town, in the place where the clergy house of the Orthodox Church now stands. It was closed in the 1940s. In the 1930s, a new cemetery was established at Cmentarna Avenue. Catholic and Evangelical cemeteries were also set up there at the same time. All the three cemeteries are surrounded by one fence.

Description

The cemetery was established in the northern part of the city, to the west of Cmentarna Street and to the north of the Strawa River, in a slightly elevated area. The cemetery was set up on a plan resembling an irregular letter “L”, with its shorter side along Cmentarna Street and the longer side along the southern brick fence. From the north, it borders with the Roman Catholic and Evangelical cemeteries, with which it shares the high, brick fence along Cmentarna Street and along its western edge. The cemetery covers an area of ​​0.62 ha.

Access to the area is provided via a two-wing, metal gate. The main alley is situated on the axis of the gate. The cemetery is divided into six sections. It has the shape of a regular rectangle, delimited by the fence from the south and by the main alley. It is divided into two plots D and E. To the north of them are plots A and B covering an area of a similar size. All four sections are delimited from the west by a perpendicular central alley, which extends northwards into the Catholic cemetery. The fifth section C lies to the west of the central alley. The sixth section is section F. It is shaped like an elongated rectangle with its longer side along the southern fence of the cemetery. It is where the oldest tombstone (from 1857) is situated.

In the south-eastern corner of the area, there is a funeral chapel. The chapel was constructed between 1870 and 1875. It is a brick-and-plaster building whose eastern and southern walls are incorporated in the cemetery fence. It was built on a hexagonal plan. It is covered with a three-hipped roof. In the western elevation, there is an entrance to the chapel in the form of an ogee-arched rectangle. The opening is surrounded by a profiled frame. The elevation is crowned with an under-eaves cornice with a small pediment topped with a full arch.

The tombstones at the cemetery include about 100 tombstones whose form is characteristic for the sepulchral art from the 1850 to 1920 period. Many of these tombstones feature the following sepulchral ornaments: a book unfolded on a stone plinth, a stone cross covered with a shroud on rocks, a cross with a wreath or entwined floral patterns on rocks, a broken column wrapped by a serpent on a pedestal. The tombstones are made of stone.

They were produced by the following stonemasons, among others: A. Pruszyński from Warsaw, Bolesław Syrewicz from Warsaw, Kruszyński and Pruszewski from Częstochowa, Władysław Karbowski from Piotrków.

The most interesting examples of sepulchral art include the tombstone of Tatiana Maksimovna Andreevna, who died in 1904. It has the form of a small chapel, erected on a square plan. Its walls are made from metal plates, solid at the bottom with a decorative cross. In the top sections, the walls are openwork, filled with coloured glass panes. Each of them is topped by a full arch with a rosette in the area under the arch. The chapel is covered with a multi-faceted roof, also made of metal plates, topped with a cross. The chapel is placed on the headstones of the grave. The burial plot is surrounded by a low wrought-iron fence.

The cemetery is overgrown by one hundred year old trees. The main avenue is lined by beech and linden trees. Along the brick fences, there are mainly horse chestnut trees.

The site is open to the public all year round, from morning to dusk.

Compiled by Agnieszka Lorenc-Karczewska, Regional Branch of the National Institute of Cultural Heritage in Łódź 4 April 2020

Bibliography

• Głowacki K., Urbanistyka Piotrkowa Trybunalskiego, Piotrków – Kielce 1984,
• Orzyński J., Karta cmentarza, 1995,