Maciej Wodziński (b. 23.02.1782, Gołębiów, near Kutno; d. 16.07.1848, Dresden) - coat-of-arms Jastrzębiec, senator-castellan and senator-voivode of the Kingdom of Poland, participant in the Napoleonic campaigns. After the fall of the November Rising, he lived in Dresden from 1831. His niece was the painter Maria Wodzińska, who met Fryderyk Chopin in Dresden in 1835 (the 'poet of the piano' proposed a year later). In the end, Wodzińska's family did not agree to the wedding, due to the musician's deteriorating health. Chopin wrote for his would-be wife a Waltz in A flat major, later called 'Farewell' (Waltz 'Les adieux'). Wodzińska, in turn, painted a portrait regarded as one of the most faithful likenesses of the musician (watercolour, 1836, Muzeum Narodowe w Warszawie). The meeting of these two probably occurred 'thanks' to a visit to Maria and her family (after a prolonged stay in Geneva) by her uncle, Maciej Wodziński, who was living in Dresden

The Old Catholic Cemetery , which contains many graves of famous personalities, is one of Dresden's most significant cultural sites. The necropolis remains one of the oldest burial grounds still existing today. The history of the cemetery begins... with a wedding. In August 1719, the Duke of Saxony, later Frederick August II, married the Duchess Maria Joseph of Austria. Celebrations with elaborate pomp continued at the magnificent Dresden Court for many days. However, already in the marriage record/intercourse of 10 April 1719, other sides of life were thought of. It was settled in writing that a special burial place would be provided in Evangelical-Lutheran Saxony for the Catholic members of the court family on the Duchess's side. Prince-elector Frederick August I granted permission to establish such a place on 20 October 1720 in Warsaw, as August II (King of Poland). However, it was not until 25 October 1723 that an executive decree was issued. This rather extensive decree demanded:

The city council of Dresden must be accurately informed of the name, age, official service and type of death of the deceased and the date of burial.

as well as:

The deceased is to be buried in absolute silence, without procession or procession; at most two carriages may accompany the funeral procession, the funeral is to take place behind closed gates.

On 08 November 1723, another royal declaration appeared concerning an executive decree. It allowed that also the Catholic courtiers of the king and heirs to the throne could enjoy this remuneration (being buried here). It was still months before the cemetery was finished and put into use. The Italian actor Philipp Molteno was the first to be buried there (16 February 1724). A further 27 burials took place in the same year. In front of the deceased Catholics, who did not belong to the court, the gates of the cemetery remained closed.

After the death of Augustus the Strong in 1733, his son Prince-Elector of Saxony Frederick Augustus II and King of Poland Augustus III, through the intercession of his wife Maria Josefa, provided Catholics with more rights and freedoms than his father. He "freed" the cemetery for all Catholics in a special royal decree of 09 September 1738. The cemetery was enlarged in 1740 and 1842, but further spatial expansion was no longer possible. In 1874, the New Catholic Cemetery was established about 1 kilometre away on Bremer Strasse.

From 1697 to 1763, when the Saxon prince-electors were also kings of Poland, many Poles lived and stayed at the Saxon court. At the time of Augustus II the Strong, around 20% of the officials in Dresden were Poles. The next waves of the Polish population were related to emigration after the unsuccessful liberation uprisings: the November Uprising and the January Uprising. At the Alte Katholischer Friedhof we can find the graves of more than 50 people of Polish origin.

In addition to Poles, buried in this necropolis are representatives of well-known families of Dresden, but also artists shaping the multicultural landscape of Saxony, among them: Balthasar Permoser (1651-1732), Giovanni Battista Casanova (1728-1795), Franz Gerhard von Kugelgen (1772-1820), Ermenegildo Antonio Donadini (1847-1936).

Technical data: monument - granite; relief and plaque in metal (alloy identification problem); height approx. 230 cm