Warsaw’s old historic Powazki cemetary – consisting of about 60,000 graves – is being catalogued to create the first European archive of its kind.

Besides a written archive of the cemetery, an electronic database is being created as a valuable resource for historians and scholars, claims Warsaw-based heritage coserver Ewa Nekanda-Trepka.

“The work is underway but we do not know when it will end,” claims Jacek Derroset, coordinator of the project. “Each grave is being archived scrupulously with a description of the row, place and dimension. Each grave is photographed, with pictures to accompany an explanation of the tomb.

The old Powazki cemetery was created in 1790 and is the largest of its kind in Warsaw. (mmj)