Information about the object:
In the old Polish cemetery in Tadanyany, the preserved tombstones date from the early 19th and 20th centuries. Approx. 50 of them are stone monuments, about 20 have metal crosses, and only plaques abandoned in the grass remain of a dozen or so. The cemetery is unfenced, overgrown with wild vegetation, and the damaged and overturned headstones are in need of maintenance and uprighting. The necropolis was left to its own devices after the end of the Second World War, when a 'new' cemetery was created to bury the Russian and later Ukrainian population. No inventory or conservation work has ever been carried out on the 'old' cemetery.

The small cemetery of the Bartmanski family is in an equally bad condition - a large tomb, a gravestone monument and four tombstones. The tomb has been stripped of one of its walls and a coffin is visible, covered with a white cloth out of respect for the protruding human remains. The tombstones date from the late 18th century. Tomasz Franciszek Bartmanski, Polish engineer, traveller and publicist, participant in the November Uprising, knight of the Order of Virtuti Militari, one of the most outstanding engineers of the Great Emigration period, is buried here.

Completed works:
20-24 August 2021. A group of 19 volunteers from Poland and a group of 13 volunteers from Ukraine participated in a volunteer camp in Tadanya. In order to properly carry out cleaning and conservation work in cemeteries, all participants were trained in the methodology of carrying out restoration work on cemetery architecture. The training was conducted by Tomasz Dziurawiec, who also provided conservation supervision for all the work.

As part of the project:

about 1/3 of the total cemetery area was cleared of unnecessary greenery;

34 tombstones in two cemeteries were inventoried (measured) and cleaned (25 were assumed) and a tree inventory was carried out;

6 gravestones were plumbed, gravestones requiring it and fragments found on site were secured for use in subsequent works;

conservation of inscriptions was carried out;

conservation and photographic documentation was carried out (before/after state).

In addition, two meetings with Poles living in Tadania and a meeting with a local historian were held during the camp. As a result, participants learnt about the history and culture of the borderlands of the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the fate of the Poles living there.

The result is also a photo exhibition telling the story of Polish culture and Polishness in the Borderlands and documenting the activities of the volunteers. The volunteers are the authors of the photos, and it will be presented both in Poland and Ukraine.

Funding: Polonika Institute programme "Polish cultural heritage abroad - volunteering".

More about the project: https://polonika.pl

• Stowarzyszenie „CRAS” Centrum Rozwoju Aktywności Społecznej, realizacja w roku 2021.