Katalikų, žydų ir evangelikų kapinės Punsko parapijoje iki XIX a. pabaigos
ENDrawing on archival material, publications and people’s memories, the author presents the burial places of people of various faiths in the Punskas region. Historical sources mention several villages in this region even before the establishment of the Punskas parish. Naturally, burial places had to be present there as well. After the establishment of the parish, the burial site was located by the church. The State Archive in Suvalkai contains copies of documents which evidence that people were buried in that specific location until the end of the 18th century. During the 18th and the 19th centuries, burials also took place in village cemeteries. In death certificates, the cemeteries of the Old Alksnėnai, Paliūnai, Šlynakiemis, Slabada, Burokai, Mockavos Navininkai, and Vaiponiškė are mentioned. Such burials (especially of the dead new-borns or children) were encountered even after the prohibition to burry in village cemeteries. At the beginning of the 19th century, approximately since 1801, a new cemetery (near the road to Ožkiniai) was opened. At present, the cemetery is referred to as the old one. Pastor B. Beniaševičius and the founder of the present church, Fr. K. Jonkaitis are buried in the cemetery chapel. Only five tombstones with records have survived to these days. Two tombstones, one of which is dated 1908, can be found at the Juozas Vaina Ethnographic Museum. As the date shows, people could be buried in the cemetery even at the beginning of the 20th century although at that time, the third, or current Trakiškės, burial place was already active. It is believed that the Jews came to Punskas in 1629. Most probably, their cemetery was also established at approximately that time. The Jews lived not only in Punskas, but also in Šlynakiemis, Vidugiriai and other villages. They were buried in a separate cemetery, in Punskas. The Evangelicals came to the region at the junction of the 18th-19th centuries.At that time, they did not have a priest, and their children were baptized by a pastor of Punskas parish. The Evangelical cemeteries were located in Punskas, Paliūnai and Vaiponiškė. Now, many of these places of eternal rest are forgotten, unattended and some are ploughed down. Other former cemeteries are marked with crosses as, for example: Paliūnai (1913), Šlynakiemis (1936), Navinykai (1949), Peleliai (1949), Sankūrai (1996). Three crosses were built at the place of Agurkiai cemetery. The burial places of Ožkiniai and Pristavonys (2016) have also been marked. A stone with an inscription in Lithuanian and Polish "The Old Roman Catholic Cemetery of Punskas" (2003) is located at the place of the former gates of the old burial site. One can see an oaken road-side shrine (koplytstulpis) (1988) and an oaken cross in honour of the millennium of Lithuania (2009) near the chapel. In 2016, an iron cross was built to commemorate the grave of the volunteer Jonas Murauskas, shot in that place.
