On All Saints’ Day the Natolin students visited the famous Powązki cemetery

On Monday, 01 November 2021, All Saints’ Day, the students of the College of Europe in Natolin took part in a visit to the famous Powązki cemetery, under the guidance of Professor Georges MINK.

Departing from the campus gates, the students travelled with several staff members by metro and tram to reach the site, whereupon several other students joined to complete the group. The tour, which lasted over five hours and which visited both the military and civil sections of the cemetery, including the graves of celebrated polish cultural and political figures such as Jacek KURON, Bronisław GEREMEK, famous classical composer (and subject of the film ‘The Pianist’) Wladysław SZPILMAN, and the gravesites of combatants during the Warsaw Uprising.

Professor MINK and Academic Assistant Nicolas NIZOWICZ provided a detailed overview of many of the sites visited, and of the significance of the date in Polish cultural history. As darkness descended and the candle embers lit up the cemetery, the students and staff made their way by bus to the civil cemetery of Powązki, where they engaged in an unguided stroll around the area, solemnly visiting the graves of more residents of Warsaw, amongst the rows of candles and flowers laid in place. The tour concluded in the early evening, whereupon the group made its way back to the campus together.