Grave of Bohuslav Martinů

The grave of Bohuslav Martinů lies in the family tomb in the cemetery by the Church of St. Michael in Polička, the composer's hometown. It is the final resting place of one of the most important Czech composers of the 20th century — though it took twenty years after his death for his remains to reach it.

Why wasn't Martinů buried in Czechoslovakia right away?

Bohuslav Martinů died in 1959 in Schönenberg, Switzerland, on the estate of the music patron Paul Sacher, where the composer had spent his final years. He died of stomach cancer at the age of 69. He was buried on Sacher's estate without official permission, and the burial included mummification of the body — a step that later explained the remarkably good state of preservation of his remains two decades on.

The composer's wife, Charlotte Martinů, wanted his remains returned to his homeland from the start. Paul Sacher opposed this for twenty years, unwilling to see the artist's remains sent to communist Czechoslovakia. It was Sacher's wife, Maja, who eventually signed the consent for the transfer without her husband's knowledge.

When and how were the remains moved to Polička?

The exhumation was scheduled for August 15–16, 1979 — exactly twenty years after the composer's death. A funeral vehicle arrived at Schönenberg to collect the coffin. During the exhumation, the body was found to be in exceptionally good condition thanks to the earlier mummification. The remains were examined by the leading Czech anthropologist Professor Emanuel Vlček, who also made a death mask of the composer at that time.

After being transported to Czechoslovakia, the remains were placed in the family tomb in the cemetery next to the Church of St. Michael in Polička — the town where Martinů was born and to which he remained emotionally attached throughout his life, even though he spent most of it abroad, in Paris, the United States and Switzerland. Twenty years after his death, the composer finally "came home" to the place he had hoped, in vain, to visit again during his lifetime.

Who was Bohuslav Martinů?

Bohuslav Martinů (1890–1959) was one of the most prolific and highly regarded Czech composers of the 20th century, the author of symphonies, operas, concertos and chamber music that combined Czech folk influences with modern European musical trends. He was born in Polička, in the tower of the Church of St. James, where his father worked as the tower keeper. He spent most of his adult life outside the country — in Paris, and after the war in the United States and Switzerland — yet he never lost his emotional bond with his hometown.

Frequently asked questions

Where exactly is Bohuslav Martinů's grave located? In the family tomb in the cemetery next to the Church of St. Michael in Polička.

Why wasn't Martinů buried in Czechoslovakia immediately after his death? He died in Switzerland in 1959 and was buried on Paul Sacher's estate; Sacher opposed transferring the remains to communist Czechoslovakia for two decades.

When were the composer's remains moved to Polička? In August 1979, twenty years after his death.

Who made the transfer of the remains to Czechoslovakia possible? Maja Sacher, Paul Sacher's wife, signed the consent for the transfer without her husband's knowledge.

Was the composer's body well preserved? Yes — thanks to the mummification carried out at the original burial in Switzerland, the body was found to be in remarkably good condition twenty years later, as confirmed by the Czech anthropologist Professor Emanuel Vlček.