The Central Cemetery is a communal cemetery in Sanok, Poland. The necropolis comprises multiple sections, beginning with the oldest at Jan Matejko Street, followed by a designed area at . Both sections are listed in the Registry of Cultural Property in Sanok. Over time, the cemetery expanded to include adjacent areas, including two soldiers' quarters, forming the current necropolis. It is one of the oldest cemeteries in the Podkarpackie Voivodeship.
History and structure
Old section at Jan Matejko Street
The original cemetery at what is now Jan Matejko Street, no longer in use, was established following a decree by Emperor Joseph II on 11 December 1783, issued by the Galician Gubernium on 21 January 1784, mandating burials outside urban areas. Previously, Sanok's cemeteries were located in the city center: a Roman Catholic cemetery around the former at the current St. Michael's Square, near by the bank building at 4 Tadeusz Kościuszko Street and the Ramerówka townhouse, and Greek Catholic cemeteries near Zamkowa Street by the local cathedral and the former at the present John III Sobieski Street, where the and the building at 2 Teofil Lenartowicz Street are located. In the 1930s, during the Second Polish Republic, remains found during excavations at the former Catholic cemetery on Gregory of Sanok Street were transferred to the cemetery at Rymanowska Street. Some old burials at this cemetery are also associated with the nearby .
No precise opening date for the cemetery is documented, but burials likely began in the 1790s or early 1800s. The cemetery appears on a Sanok map from 1852. According to historian , the cemetery was established in 1857 on land purchased from Piotr Czyżewski by the Austro-Hungarian district authority. The purchase costs were borne by local Roman and Greek Catholic parishes. Income from burial plot sales supported the construction of the local Roman Catholic parish church. The cemetery was managed by the parish committee.
On 3 April 1867, the Sanok City Council, led by Father , pastor of the Parish of the Transfiguration, initiated plans for a new cemetery. Father Czaszyński chaired a committee that included councilors Michał Solski, Ignacy Kahane, , Szymon Drewiński, and non-councilor Dr. . The committee identified a parcel west of the city owned by landowner . Despite these efforts, the plan was not finalized. On 27 July 1882, the City Council discussed establishing a new Catholic cemetery or expanding the existing one, appointing a committee with Father Czaszyński, , , Jan Kupczyk, and . On 14 December 1882, the council decided to acquire land from Piotr Czyżewski to expand the cemetery.
The cemetery served Christians of Roman Catholic and Protestant denominations, and after the 1784 decree, also Greek Catholics, previously buried at the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary in the city center. On 20 May 1869, the City Council approved fencing the municipal cemetery. In the mid-1880s, the cemetery, managed by the Roman Catholic parish, faced criticism for chaotic burial practices, lack of fencing and pathways, and its location on marshy terrain. On 12 May 1887, councilor proposed fencing the cemetery with a picket fence for security reasons. A 1891 press report highlighted the cemetery's neglected state. The cemetery at Jan Matejko Street was closed on 1 December 1895. On 5 October 1905, Sanok mayor issued a notice urging residents and others to maintain deteriorating tombstones at the old Catholic cemetery within one year, after which damaged monuments would be removed.
In the late 20th century, Ewa Śnieżyńska-Stolot and Franciszek Stolot identified the tombstone of Antoni Lenik, an imperial-royal financial councilor who died in 1866 at age 52, as one of the oldest surviving monuments. The section at Jan Matejko Street spans 1.57 hectares and has an irregular quadrilateral shape. Its layout resembles a fan, with pathways extending westward, northwest, and northward from the entrance at the southeastern corner on Roman Dmowski Street.
Old section at Rymanowska Street
The creation of a new cemetery may have been driven by the need to expand the existing necropolis or to establish a dedicated Roman Catholic cemetery. On 8 June 1887, the City Council voted to establish a new necropolis for Christian residents, funded by municipal resources, with costs to be offset by future burial fees. A committee comprising , , and Józef Rynczarski was appointed to oversee the purchase and development of the new cemetery. On 21 January 1890, the Sanok magistrate proposed acquiring 2.5 morgs of land from Józef Lisowski. On 26 August 1890, a new committee, including Dr. , Father , and Paweł Hydzik, was tasked with assessing the suitability of land owned by Franciszka Lisowska (plots 85/1, 86/1, 87/1).
The city acquired land from , approximately 1.3 km from the Market Square. On 15 March 1894, the City Council approved the purchase of three morgs of land in Posada Sanocka or Dąbrówka Polska from Józefa Rylska for 5,000 PLN. On 29 October 1894, Mayor reported the purchase of plot 1186 from Józefa Rylska for 5,000 PLN. This plot, identified on an 1852 map as "Średnie pole" (Middle Field), formed the basis for the new cemetery.
City architect designed the communal cemetery and a Gothic Revival funeral chapel. His design, published in 1896 in , served as a model for cemetery planning in Galicia. The cemetery, covering 1.54 hectares at Rymanowska Street, was rectangular and divided into four quarters: I (southwest), II (southeast), III (northwest), and IV (northeast). Four main pathways converged at the center, where a Gothic Revival chapel was built for Józefa Habermann (died 2 May 1895) and her family, approved by city authorities for a 250 PLN perpetual endowment. Beksiński's plan allocated 2,842 burial plots: 4 for distinguished individuals, 172 permanent masonry graves, 436 permanent standard graves, and 2,230 temporary graves (including 415 for the poor). Plots along the main pathways were reserved for prominent citizens, with four central plots around the chapel, while the periphery was designated for the poor.
By July 1895, the cemetery at Rymanowska Street was equipped with a gate, fencing, hedgerows, pathways, drainage ditches, leveled terrain, and a roofed chapel. On 24 October 1895, the City Council set fees, established regulations, and appointed city gardener Józef Ursa as gravedigger. The cemetery was consecrated on All Souls' Day, 2 November 1895, in the presence of City Council members, Roman and Greek Catholic clergy, and residents. The 1898 budget allocated 600 PLN for a mortuary building. On 11 November 1895, an adjacent western section for residents of and – then outside city limits – was consecrated, with trees provided by . Trees were planted along the pathways in mid-1896.
With the opening of the new cemetery at Rymanowska Street and another at Posada Olchowska, the Jan Matejko Street cemetery was closed on 1 December 1895. On 24 September 1896, councilor Dr. raised concerns about tombstones facing away from pathways, contrary to proper alignment.
The cemetery served Roman and Greek Catholic burials. Beksiński's design planned for closure after 50 years, in 1946. In 1931, the cemetery building was located at 46 Rymanowska Street. The total area, per Beksiński's design, is 2.49 hectares. Historian noted that one of the oldest surviving tombstones is that of Józef Hellebrand, a retired forest manager who died on 30 November 1898 at age 82. Two entrances, including a main gate leading to the old chapel, were established from Rymanowska Street.
At the beginning of the 20th century, a cemetery fund existed, and grave numbers were marked on posts. At that time, on All Saints' Day, 1 November, members of the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul held collections at both the old cemetery (J. Matejko Street) and the new one (Rymanowska Street). In the second half of the 20th century, on All Saints' Day, 1 November, a solemn Roman Catholic Mass was celebrated by the historic chapel in the cemetery.
Current area and state
Over time, the cemetery area was expanded by incorporating adjacent land. After burial space was exhausted at the old cemetery on Rymanowska Street, a special cemetery commission in 1921 recommended continuing interments at the old cemetery on Matejko Street, suggesting the purchase of adjacent plots. A resolution by the City Council on 22 August 1922 approved exchanging other land to the owners of the plots adjoining the old cemetery on Matejko Street. In modern times, the expansion proceeded westward from the original cemetery areas along Matejko and Rymanowska streets, and land between the two parts was also incorporated, resulting in a unified cemetery area encompassing both existing and newly added grounds. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, burials took place in the so-called "new section" of the Matejko Street cemetery in an "Avenue of the Meritorious", where individuals associated with the Polish People's Republic regime were laid to rest. In the early 1980s, efforts were undertaken to integrate the burial areas on and around Jan Matejko Street. Eventually, the Central Cemetery came to encompass the area bounded by the streets Rymanowska, Roman Dmowski, Kiczury, Głogowa, and Dąbrowiecka. The entire cemetery area is crossed by Jan Brzechwa Street. On the side of Głogowa Street, the Central Cemetery borders the new Jewish cemetery. At the center of the current cemetery grounds stands a municipal funeral home, whose construction began in 1988. The interior polychromes were created by . Also in 1988, proposed the renovation and marking of graves belonging to individuals meritorious to the city.
Human remains uncovered between 1935 and 1936 at the site of the former were buried at the cemetery. During archaeological work on Zamkowa Street near the local Orthodox church, human remains – likely from a 17th-century cemetery – were also discovered and subsequently transferred to the Sanok cemetery.
In July 1987, the cemetery was the site of break-ins into some of its oldest burial crypts and coffins, which were looted and robbed. Between late 1994 and early 1995, several acts of vandalism occurred at the cemetery, resulting in damage to gravestones, the Insurgents Cross, and military burial plots. In 2000, a new fence was erected along Rymanowska Street, 500 juniper shrubs were planted, and several pathways were renovated. In the early 21st century, two columbarium walls were built along the cemetery's western edge, parallel to Roman Dmowski Street, designed to house cremation urns (the first wall includes 80 niches). By resolution of 21 July 2011, the Sanok City Council introduced the Regulations for Municipal Cemeteries located within Gmina Sanok.
As of 1 August 2012, vehicular traffic through the cemetery along Jan Brzechwa Street, between its junctions with Roman Dmowski and with Dąbrowiecka and Głogowa streets, was prohibited by city authorities for legal and safety reasons. The cemetery remains accessible at all hours via pedestrian gates. In spring and summer 2014, renovation and modernization works were carried out, including the construction of a parking lot, the beginning of a fence around the Polish soldiers' burial section, and conservation works. Later in 2014, the parking lot was completed, the interior of the funeral chapel was renovated and modernized, two cemetery alleys were asphalted, and a second columbarium wall was built, providing 120 burial niches accessible from both sides. Until 2015, the cemetery was managed by a private funeral company. On 1 May 2017, the Sanok Municipal Housing Management Company took over administration on behalf of the City of Sanok.
The total area of the Central Cemetery is just under 8 hectares (79,300 m²). As of 2019, the cemetery plan identifies six zones:
1 – the old section along Rymanowska Street, including plots for Polish soldiers and Red Army soldiers;