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Rasos Cemetery
Rasos Cemetery lies in a broad valley between the Rasos and Ribiškės hills, in the south of Vilnius. It was consecrated in 1801 and was the city's first cemetery not dependent on a church. A narrow street, Sukilėlių, separates the old part from the new. In the old part stands a neo-Gothic red-brick chapel with its bell tower, surrounded by the oldest graves. In the centre is the Literati Hill, where Lithuanian, Polish and Belarusian writers and cultural figures rest. In the northern corner remain parts of the oldest fence, from 1812, and the oldest graves. The painter and composer Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis is buried here, as is Jonas Basanavičius. The cemetery also holds the heart of Marshal Józef Piłsudski, whose body is in Kraków, under a headstone in the Polish military cemetery designed by Wojciech Jastrzębowski. Next to it is his mother's grave, with the inscription "Matka i serce syna".
Add it to your trip on Wanloria →Things to do at Rasos Cemetery: 4 missions
- Find Piłsudski's heart next to his motherFind the headstone in the Polish military cemetery that holds Marshal Piłsudski's heart and the large black stone of his mother's adjoining grave.
- Climb the Literati HillClimb the hill in the centre of the cemetery, where Lithuanian, Polish and Belarusian writers and cultural figures are buried, and read the names on several headstones.
- Find Čiurlionis's graveLook for the headstone of the painter and composer M. K. Čiurlionis in the cemetery.
- Photograph the neo-Gothic chapel and its bell towerStand in the old part of the cemetery and frame the neo-Gothic brick chapel together with its bell tower.
Near Rasos Cemetery
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to visit Rasos Cemetery?
Visiting Rasos Cemetery is free.
How much time do you need for Rasos Cemetery?
Allow about 1 h 15 min for the visit.