Pęksowy Brzyzek (Old Cemetery)
Zakopane's old cemetery, in use since the mid-19th century, with wooden highland grave markers and the graves of Witkiewicz, Witkacy, Chałubiński and Tetmajer.
- ul. Kościuszki, Zakopane
- 0.6 h
A cemetery in use since the mid-19th century, set on a forested hillside a few minutes' walk from the top of Krupówki. The grave markers are predominantly wooden — carved in highland tradition with distinctive painted ornament, a visual language specific to Podhale that you won't find in standard Polish cemeteries.
History
The graves span the full arc of modern Polish history: 19th-century highland farmers, early 20th-century artists and intellectuals who settled in Zakopane, interwar figures, and local families continuing to use the site today. Reading the names and dates across the hillside is a compact version of Zakopane's cultural history.
Notable graves: Stanisław Witkiewicz (1851–1915), the architect and painter who developed the Zakopane Style. Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz (Witkacy) (1885–1939) — a symbolic grave, as his actual remains were lost in the Second World War; the symbolic monument here acknowledges him as Zakopane's most significant cultural figure. Tytus Chałubiński (1820–1889), the Kraków doctor who popularised Zakopane among Polish intellectuals in the late 19th century, effectively launching its tourism. Kazimierz Przerwa-Tetmajer (1865–1940), poet and writer who made the Tatras central to Polish literary imagination.
What to expect
All Saints' Day (November 1): the cemetery is worth visiting at any time of year, but November 1 transforms it. Polish families place candles (znicze) at the graves of their relatives — the tradition extends throughout the country, but at Pęksowy Brzyzek, with the wooden grave markers and the forest setting, the effect is specific. By evening, the hillside is lit with hundreds of candles; families move between graves; the scent of chrysanthemums and candle smoke.
This is not a tourist performance — it's a private observance that visitors can witness respectfully. Come in the evening, move quietly, don't photograph people without awareness. What makes this worth attending as an outsider is precisely that it isn't a performance. There is no ticket, no programme and nothing arranged for visitors. What you're watching is a living tradition: residents visiting the graves of guides, rescuers, artists, writers and their own families — the people who built this town.
That comes with obligations. Keep quiet. Don't use a flash. Don't treat people standing at their relatives' graves as an element in a photograph. Stand at the edge and let it be what it is. The atmosphere is strongest on the evening of October 31 and through November 1.
Duration: 30–45 minutes to walk through attentively. When to visit: morning is quietest; November 1 evening for the candle atmosphere; any season, as the forest setting changes with snow, autumn colour, and summer green.
Photography: the grave markers are photographable. During All Saints' Day, don't photograph people at the graves and don't use a flash. This is a place of remembrance rather than a photo spot — that holds all year round, not just on November 1.
Insider tips
Walk to the cemetery in combination with Villa Atma — both are on or near ul. Kościuszki, and together they form a 1.5-hour cultural walk covering the most significant figures in Zakopane's artistic history.