The cemeteries of the Île-de-France region, including the Paris necropolises, are a unique testimony to the history of Polish emigration, particularly of the 19th and 20th centuries. They contain the graves of prominent figures of Polish culture, politics and science, as well as of ordinary emigrants who contributed to the formation of Polish-French relations. Polish tombstones are both places of remembrance and evidence of the bonds between Poles and France that have lasted for generations.

The history of the massive Polish presence in the Île-de-France region begins in the 19th century, after key events such as the November Uprising (1830-1831) and the January Uprising (1863-1864). Following the defeats of these uprisings, many Poles went into exile, finding refuge in Paris, which became the centre of the Polish Great Emigration. Politicians, artists, scientists and social activists settled in the region and continued their work for Polish independence.

In the 20th century, the Île-de-France region welcomed successive waves of Polish emigrants. After the First World War, workers, mainly from the north and east of Poland, settled here and took up industrial jobs. After World War II, many political refugees found a new home in Paris, and the Solidarity movement of the 1980s brought further groups of Poles to the region.

There are 15 cemeteries in present-day Paris where Poles are buried and buried, and another 14 in the rest of the Île-de-France region. The most famous of these is the Père-Lachaise cemetery, where, among others, Frederic Chopin is buried. Another important necropolis, but already a sub-par Parisian one, is the cemetery in Montmorency, where Adam Mickiewicz, Cyprian Kamil Norwid and many other distinguished figures were buried. Of particular importance is also the Bagneux cemetery near Paris, where, among others, Sara Lipska and Mela Muter are buried, but also about 600 other Poles and Poles, as well as the Passy cemetery in Paris, where, among others, the tombstone of Antoine Cierplikowski (he himself is buried in Poland, however), Paul Landowski (1908-1977) or the Poniatowski family are found. Another important necropolis is the Montparnasse cemetery, which contains the graves of both 19th century emigrants, including a mass grave of uprising veterans, and well-known artists Eugeniusz Zak and Alina Szapocznikow. Also important for the Polish community is the Montmartre cemetery, where about 120 graves have been preserved, with 319 Poles buried there, including insurgents buried in both mass and individual graves, such as General Maciej Rybiński. The cemetery also contains a tomb monument to Juliusz Słowacki, whose body was transferred to Wawel in 1927. Another necropolis with quite a number of Polish monuments is the Batignolles cemetery (170 Polish women and men buried there), among them Antonina Petrykiewicz, one of the first film directors.

Among the suburbs of Paris, apart from Montmorency, numerous burials can be found in the cemetery of Saint-Ouen (395 buried Poles). The history of the cemetery in Ivry-sur-Seine is also interesting. It was here that Cyprian Kamil Norwid, whose body was transferred to Montmorency in 1888, was initially laid to rest, as well as other residents of the St Casimir's Institution; their common grave, however, has not survived to the present day and we have no information about Polish tombstones in the cemetery.

In some cemeteries, however, we have information about only single Polish monuments, such as in the largest French necropolis, the Pantin cemetery, where only 3 people were recorded. In other cemeteries such as La Chapelle, Clichy Nord, Grenelle or Calvaire, there is no information about historical Polish burials.

For the Paris cemeteries, the Society for the Care of Polish Historical Monuments and Graves in France has compiled a detailed list of persons buried with the location of their burial places (some tombstones with GPS location others with indication of the resting place), which can be found on the Society's website.

List of Paris cemeteries (within the modern city limits)

Auteuil Cemetery (11 tombstones, 24 people, burial list: http: //www.tombeauxpolonais.eu/alphabetical/Auteuil )

Belleville Cemetery (6 gravestones, 13 people, list of those buried: http: //www.tombeauxpolonais.eu/alphabetical/Belleville )

Bercy Cemetery (1 gravestone, 5 people, list of those buried: http: //www.tombeauxpolonais.eu/alphabetical/Bercy )

Charonne Cemetery (1 headstone, 2 people, list of those buried: http: //www.tombeauxpolonais.eu/alphabetical/Charonne )

Gentilly Cemetery (3 headstones, 6 people, list of those buried: http: //www.tombeauxpolonais.eu/alphabetical/Gentilly )

La-Villette cemetery (4 headstones, 7 people, list of those buried: http: //www.tombeauxpolonais.eu/alphabetical/La-Villette )

Montrouge Cemetery (8 tombstones, 15 people, list of those buried: http: //www.tombeauxpolonais.eu/content/montrouge-dep-92 )

Montmartre Cemetery (about 190 tombstones, 320 people, list of those buried: http: //www.tombeauxpolonais.eu/alphabetical/Montmartre )

Montparnasse cemetery (about 100 tombstones, 153 people, list of those buried: http: //www.tombeauxpolonais.eu/alphabetical/Montparnasse )

Pantin cemetery (3 gravestones, 3 people, list of those buried: http: //www.tombeauxpolonais.eu/alphabetical/Pantin )

Passy cemetery (about 45 gravestones, 82 people, list of those buried: http: //www.tombeauxpolonais.eu/alphabetical/Pantin )

Père-Lachaise cemetery (about 300 tombstones, about 620 people, list of those buried: http: //www.tombeauxpolonais.eu/alphabetical/Pere-Lachaise )

Saint-Vincent cemetery (4 tombstones, 14 people, list of those buried: http: //www.tombeauxpolonais.eu/alphabetical/Saint-Vincent )

Cemetery of Saint-Mande Sud (8 tombstones, 23 people, list of those buried: http: //www.tombeauxpolonais.eu/alphabetical/Saint-Mande-Sud )

Vaugirard cemetery (2 tombstones, 3 people, list of those buried: http: //www.tombeauxpolonais.eu/alphabetical/Vaugirard )

Sub-Paris cemeteries

Bagneux cemetery (about 400 gravestones, 605 people, list of those buried: http: //www.tombeauxpolonais.eu/alphabetical/Bagneux )

Cemetery in Clichy-la-Garenne - South Cemetery (2 headstones, of which 1 not found, 4 persons)

Cemetery in Eaubonne - 1 pre-1945 gravestone of the Majdrowicz family remains

Cemetery in Gif-sur-Yvette (3 persons)

Cemetery in Juvisy-sur-Orge (8 persons)

Cemetery in Le Vésinet (52 persons)

Neuilly-sur-Seine cemetery (41 persons)

Cemetery of Saint-Cloud (2 persons)

Saint-Germain-en-Laye cemetery (32 persons)

Saint-Ouen cemetery (list of persons buried with location of graves - http://www.tombeauxpolonais.eu/alphabetical/Saint-Ouen , documentary information on selected gravestones can be found on file at MKiDN)

Samoreau cemetery (1 person)

Sèvres cemetery (2 persons)

Thiais cemetery (154 persons, burial list: http: //www.tombeauxpolonais.eu/content/thiais )

Villepreux cemetery (12 persons)