Cemetery in Metylovice

The Cemetery in Metylovice is a modest but historically layered burial ground in the village of Metylovice, located in the Frýdek-Místek District of the Moravian-Silesian Region in the Czech Republic. What looks today like an ordinary village cemetery actually represents the third of three different burial sites the community has used over the centuries, each tied to a distinct chapter of local history.

Where were the dead first buried?

The earliest cemetery in Metylovice stood right beside the parish church — the Gothic Church of All Saints, built in 1577 on the site of an older wooden church and later remodeled in the Baroque style. Burying the dead in the churchyard was the common practice across many villages in the region for generations, and the cemetery around the Metylovice church remained in use for almost two and a half centuries before it was retired.

Why did the location change?

During the 19th century, burials were moved to a new plot near the church, where the original cemetery cross has been preserved to this day, still marking the spot. The move was driven partly by the fact that the old churchyard cemetery was small and hemmed in by surrounding buildings. At the time, two alternative sites for an entirely new cemetery were even discussed — one near the St. Anne chapel, the other on church-owned land beyond the property of a local farmer named Nykl. Neither plan was carried out, however, and the cemetery ultimately stayed in its existing spot and size.

Traces of the First World War

One particularly striking layer of history at the cemetery relates to the First World War. In 1916, the local municipal government set aside a section of the village cemetery for the graves of soldiers who had died in the conflict. Two such graves survive today, identified by distinctive green-painted metal plaques — modest but meaningful markers connecting this small rural cemetery to a much larger, continent-wide tragedy.

The third and current cemetery

Since 1963, burials in Metylovice have taken place at a third site, which now serves as the village's active cemetery. The old churchyard cemetery, after functioning for nearly two hundred fifty years, ceased to serve its original purpose once the new site took over — yet it did not disappear from the village landscape or its collective memory.

What can visitors see today?

On the grounds of the former churchyard cemetery, an old mortuary building and a statue of Saint Joseph the Foster Father still stand, both recalling the site's earlier role. Scattered around the village, several crosses mark the locations of the former and current cemeteries, forming a kind of quiet trail through the shifting geography of burial in Metylovice across the centuries.

Frequently asked questions

How many cemeteries has Metylovice had throughout its history? Three: the original one beside the Church of All Saints, a second one established nearby during the 19th century, and the third, in use since 1963, which serves the village today.

Are there any surviving traces of the oldest cemetery? Yes — an old mortuary building and a statue of Saint Joseph the Foster Father still stand at the church, and crosses around the village mark the former burial locations.

What do the green metal plaques in the cemetery commemorate? They mark the graves of two soldiers who died in the First World War, buried in a military section set aside in 1916.

Since when has the current cemetery in Metylovice been in use? Since 1963, making it the third burial site in the village's history.