Stary Cmentarz na Peksowym Brzyzku

The old cemetery on Peksowy Brzyzek sits beside the wooden parish church on Koscieliska street, the oldest street in Zakopane. It was founded in 1851, on land given by a local farmer named Jan Peksa, which is where the name comes from. What began as a village graveyard became one of the most important resting places in Poland, and its hand-carved wooden and stone tombstones are works of highland folk art in their own right.

This is a small, quiet place that repays a slow walk. The graves belong to the people who made Zakopane what it is: doctors, painters, writers, mountain guides and Tatra rescuers. Many of the markers are carved from wood or stone in the local style, closer to sculpture than to standard headstones. It sits at the top of Krupowki and pairs naturally with a look at the old wooden church next door. See the Zakopane guide for where it fits on a walk through the old part of town.

The cemetery holds several hundred graves, many of them of people who shaped the town and the region. Among the best known are the doctor Tytus Chalubinski, whose burial in 1889 marked the point when the graveyard began to gather notable figures, and Jan Krzeptowski Sabala, the highland storyteller and musician. Others include the painter and writer Stanislaw Witkiewicz, who created the Zakopane Style, the poet Kazimierz Przerwa-Tetmajer, the children's writer Kornel Makuszynski, and the ski jumper Stanislaw Marusarz. A memorial also honours those with no grave here.

The markers are the reason to slow down. Local artists carved crosses and figures in wood, stone and metal using Podhale motifs, and no two are quite alike. The cemetery has been protected as a monument since the 1930s, and its character has been kept intact rather than modernised.

Twenty to thirty minutes is enough for a respectful walk around and a look at the main graves. Combined with the wooden church beside it, allow up to an hour.

The cemetery is on Koscieliska street, a short walk west from the top of Krupowki. It is easy to reach on foot from the centre of Zakopane. The wooden church and the old parish buildings stand right alongside it.

The cemetery is at the historic end of town, close to several other sights:

• Willa Koliba, the first Zakopane Style house, further along Koscieliska street.
• Krupowki, the main street, a couple of minutes east.
• Gubalowka, whose funicular base is a short walk away.

The land was donated by a farmer called Jan Peksa, and brzyzek is a highland dialect word for a small bank or cliff by a stream. Together the name marks the spot where the cemetery was laid out in 1851.

Access is generally by a small donation collected at the entrance rather than a fixed ticket. Check the notice at the gate when you arrive.