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A walk through the Central Cemetery in Pilsen

A walk through the Central Cemetery in Pilsen

April 2020 · 5 min read · Plzeň

A bit unconventional idea. But why not. The cemetery is nothing scary, on the contrary.
It is a grove of reconciliation, peace and tranquility. Tombstones are often decorated with valuable works of art, and at the graves of celebrities we can remember them and pay tribute to their legacy.
In the Central Cemetery in Pilsen, we can find the graves of a number of famous personalities cared for by the city.
For each of them we find a table where we can read about the life and work of the one who dreams of his eternal dream here.

On Wikipedia we can find a list of honorary graves:

Honorary graves (selection) - source:

Tomb of the painter Augustin the German
According to the list on the cemetery website.

  1. Josef Skupa (1892–1957) - puppet actor, founder of the Spejbl and Hurvínek Theater
  2. Augustin Němejc (1861–1938) - painter
  3. Karel Klostermann (1848–1923) - writer
  4. Václav Peták (1842–1917) - Mayor of Pilsen
  5. František Lukavský (1874–1937) - politician and member of the National Assembly of the Czechoslovak Republic
  6. Augustin Fodermayer (1829–1906) - Pilsen physician-psychiatrist, builder of inpatient facilities
  7. František Schwarz (1840–1906) - politician and member of the Czech Parliament
  8. Rudolf Štech (1858–1908) - architect and builder
  9. Ladislav Lábek (1882–1970) - historian and museologist
  10. Stanislav Suda (1865–1931) - Czech composer, flutist and music teacher
  11. Jiří Trnka (1912–1969) - artist, illustrator, puppeteer and director of animated films
  12. Karel Fleissig (1912–1976) - writer
  13. Augustin Nosek (1887–1974) - carver, puppeteer
  14. František Xaver Franc (1838–1910) - archaeologist
  15. Adolf Kreuzmann (1855–1939) - actor, father of František Kreuzmann the Elder
  16. Heliodor Píka (1897–1949) - Czechoslovak general. army, a victim of communist terror
  17. Luděk Pik (1876–1938) - politician, Member of the National Assembly of the Czechoslovak Republic and Mayor of Pilsen
  18. Karel Paleček (1896–1962) - MS. soldier, legionnaire and prisoner of the communist regime
  19. Vojtěch Šíp (1885–1931) - sculptor

Let's go see some of them together.

We will start our walk at the main gate of the cemetery. We can come to the city center, for example, by trolleybus no. 11. We get off at the final one. The message Central Cemetery, Terminal, and we can get out.

We go through the underpass under the road and exit at the main gate.
Here we will be welcomed by Christ and the neo-Gothic chapel of St. Wenceslas, our national saint.

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Chapel of St. Wenceslas is the work of architect Josef Farkač. It was built together with the founding of the cemetery. In 2006, it was included among the cultural monuments.

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He has been buried in the cemetery since 1902, when the cemetery was founded due to the insufficient capacity of the St. Nicholas Cemetery in Slovany.

We will be the first to visit the tomb of JUDr. Václav Peták (September 24, 1842 Rosovice - November 19, 1917 Pilsen)
He was an important mayor of the city of Pilsen.
Under his leadership, the city received public water supply, sewerage and tram transport from František Křižík himself.

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The massive monument itself with the emblem of the city comes from the workshop of the architect Hanuš Zápal.
Now we cross a few tens of meters to the grave of Josef Skupa.

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I probably don't have to introduce Josfa to you.
His famous puppets, Spejbl and Hurvínek, are known to each of us from childhood.
Josef Skupa was born in Strakonice in 1892.
In Pilsen, he worked at the amateur Puppet Theater of Ferial Settlements.

And when did his Spejbl see the light of day? Already in 1919! The spejbl was created in the hands of the carver Karel Nosek.
The group most often performed with him and with the figure of a prankster.

In 1926, Gustav Nosek, nephew of Karel Nosek, produced it as a surprise for the Skupa - Little Hurvínek.

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And he now kneels to pray that he will soon rise and give joy to the children for decades to come.
His wife, Jiřina Skupová, also rests here with the Group.

We will walk a few tens of meters from the grave of J. Skupa.

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Here lies František Xaver Franc (December 3, 1838, Hostivice near Prague - January 20, 1910, Pilsen).
At that time, a gardener at Kozel Castle and an ardent archaeologist on fire. To live in his time, I would definitely like to meet this gentleman and help him with the exploration of prehistoric mounds in Kozelské polesí ...
F. X. Franc is also famous for finding a special cup from Lopata Castle and exploring this castle ruins.

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Nearby is the last resting place of the Venerable Mr. Jaroslav Schiebl (September 13, 1851 Pilsen - April 5, 1933 Pilsen.
Jaroslav Schiebl became famous especially for collecting Pilsen folk tales.
He worked as a cultural historian focusing on the history of Pilsen, archivist and statistician.
He also founded a club of photographers - amateurs in Pilsen.

Our short walk through the last resting places of several Pilsen personalities is slowly coming to an end.
The weather is getting worse, it's starting to drip.
Goodbye, our dear ancestors!
We will say goodbye to you by looking at the crematorium building.

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The crematorium building was built in 1924 according to the design of architect Hanuš Zápal.
Meet the light.

Yes, we all have to go there one day ...

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