Cemetery in Motol

Motolský hřbitov (Motol Cemetery) is a forest cemetery in Prague's Motol district (Prague 5), located at Plzeňská 233, built as part of a larger complex with an adjoining crematorium. The site sits within the Košíře-Motol landscape park, with the Motol Stream running through the grounds, giving the cemetery an unusually park-like, wooded character rather than the look of a conventional burial ground.

How did the cemetery come to be?

Plans for a crematorium in Motol first surfaced in 1937, but the pre-war project was never carried out. City authorities revisited the idea only in the late 1940s, aiming to build a modern cremation facility on Prague's western edge. Construction finally began in 1951, based on a design by architect Josef Karel Říha, and the entire complex — the crematorium building together with the forest cemetery — was completed in 1954.

What can visitors find on the grounds?

The centerpiece is the crematorium building itself, surrounded by a wooded urn cemetery with a columbarium for storing funerary urns. A memorial garden set above an artificial pond gives the site a quiet, reflective atmosphere. Two sculptures, titled "Fading Beauty" and "Bol" ("Pain"), stand within the grounds — both evoking themes of transience and mourning typical of the sepulchral art of that era.

Why is this cemetery historically significant?

Motol Cemetery carries a darker chapter of Czechoslovak history. During the harshest years of communist rule in the 1950s, the remains of people executed or killed by the regime — including victims of political persecution — were secretly buried here in unmarked mass graves. This fact stayed hidden for decades and only came fully to light after the fall of communism. Following these revelations, the Confederation of Political Prisoners of the Czech Republic campaigned for the construction of a memorial mausoleum on the cemetery grounds, dedicated to the victims of communist terror who had been buried here without dignity or public acknowledgment. Today the site functions as a place of national memory, drawing visitors interested in Czechoslovakia's twentieth-century history.

How to get to Motol Cemetery?

The cemetery lies along Plzeňská Street, one of the main roads leading out of central Prague to the west, in the Motol district, close to the large Motol University Hospital (Fakultní nemocnice v Motole) complex. Tram and bus lines serving this part of the city make the cemetery easy to reach.

Frequently asked questions

Is Motol Cemetery a regular municipal cemetery? Not quite — it is primarily a cremation cemetery tied to the on-site crematorium, laid out as a forested area with a pond and columbarium rather than traditional rows of graves.

What does the memorial on the grounds commemorate? A mausoleum built at the initiative of the Confederation of Political Prisoners honors the victims of 1950s communist terror, whose remains were secretly buried here in mass graves.

Who designed the crematorium and cemetery? The complex was designed by architect Josef Karel Říha and built between 1951 and 1954.

Are there any sculptures on the cemetery grounds? Yes, the site includes sculptures titled "Fading Beauty" and "Bol" ("Pain"), reflecting themes of mortality and grief.