Thought to have begun life as a cemetery way back in 1809, the so-called Soldiers' Cemetery (Karių Kapinės) can be found in the forested area of Antakalnis a couple of kilometres or so from Old Town. The Polish soldiers' graveyard, distinguished by undulating rows of identical headstones, lies to the left of the entrance. Nearby stands a small collection of Tartar graves complete with Islamic symbols. To the left and deeper into the cemetery, large Soviet soldiers guard the (no-longer burning) eternal flame. To the soldiers' right is the ghastly Soviet memorial encasing the graves of Soviet Lithuania's dignitaries. Take a hike up the stairs on your left to reach the 'red star' graves of Soviet soldiers who died fighting Lithuanian partisans. Perhaps most poignant are the graves of the border guards murdered by the Soviets at Medininkai on July 31, 1991 and the civilians killed by Soviet paratroopers during the January 1991 demonstrations, all guarded by a stunning Pietà. Still in use, among the more notable recent additions are a large patch of grass surrounded by a tiny concrete wall and containing the remains of the Napoleonic soldiers discovered in the city in 2002, and the final resting place of the often overlooked Lithuanian composer Antanas Rekašius (1928-2003).
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I visited the Antakalnis Cemetery, this May of 2010, and found it to be a typical lovely old European cemetery. I have many ancestors buried there, among them, with a last name of: Bohuszewicz. My father's family lived in the area of Antakalnis for five centuries, and the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul was the family church. Unfortunately, unlike the Rossas Cemetery, the Antakalnis Cemetery office has started removing the old graves and replacing them with new ones. I'm in the hard process of obtaining information on how to save the old graves. Information regarding the saving of the old graves is much appreciated. Thank you.
I visited this cemetry in July on the anniversary of the murders of the border guards. i was pleased to see all of their graves were adorned with fresh flowers showing their sacrifice had not been forgotten.I found the cemetry very interesting because there were graves of people from so many different countries - Polish graves, French graves, Russian graves.Many of the headstones in the cemetry were really beautiful. i especially liked some of the carved wooden ones.
This is a superb summary! I found this cemetery to be an awesome summation in many ways of the recent history of Lithuania, especially its abuse by the Communists! I agree with the review above and concur.