Žemaičių Kalvarijos kapinės ir jos memorialiniai paminklai

ENThe cemetery which exists now is the third burial-ground of the Christians in Žemaičių Kalvarija. This cemetery was founded in about 1822. Until the 19th century, Catholics were burying the dead in the churchyard, therefore, the first cemetery and the Church of Žemaičių Kalvarija were closely connected. The exploration of the cemetery is complicated due to the lack of the archaeological data and few written sources. Nevertheless, we can assert that until the beginning of the 20th century wooden memorials dominated in the cemetery. However, in the second half of the 19th century, stone and metal monuments became more common. During the period of Independent Lithuania, metal, stone and cement were domineering materials in the cemetery. The wooden memorials almost disappeared in the Soviet period. Stone and cement memorials were standardized. In spite of that fact, the burial-ground did not become “a stone corridor” thanks to the natural relief (the cemetery is situated on the hill and its slopes). Besides, the old memorials make the kernel of the cemetery. The fact that the cemetery of Žemaičių Kalvarija is a part of the Stations of the Cross (there are two Chapels of the Stations of the Cross) is its peculiarity. In the Žemaičių Kalvarija cemetery there are two monuments made by sculptor B. Bučas. All the cemeteries of small towns testifying to the culture of small towns, the Beržų hill’s cemetery makes no exception. It is a good source of information about the development of the culture of Žemaičių Kalvarija.