Significant artwork at the Trsat Cemetery

History of Trsat Cemetery

The history of burial sites in Trsat dates back to the 17th century. Franciscan Franjo Glavinić described an old cemetery located in front of St. Mary`s church in Trsat already in 1648 in his book named Historia Tersattana (History of Trsat). Over the years, various cemeteries were established and closed in different places in the area.

On June 3th 1901, there was an official opening of the new municipal cemetery in Trsat, located at the present location. The first deceased was buried there on the following day, June 4th 1901. At the beginning, Trsat Cemetery was of smaller dimensions, but due to the increasing needs of the growing population of Sušak it was regularly maintained, improved and expanded. Today the Trsat Cemetery is almost filled, and the possibility of extension is minimal due to the surrounding residential construction and city roads.

Description

The Trsat Cemetery has an almost squared ground plan with graves arranged in very regular fields and orthogonal lines. The main entrance is a portal with latticed iron gates on the north side, along the road, while the side entrance is in the south-east corner. The cemetery is completely surrounded by walls. Opposite to the main entrance, there is the main cemetery alley leading to a simple historicist tomb chapel. The chapel has been repeatedly restored because it is constantly in function during the funerals and other rituals.

Artwork at the cemetery

There are no large architectural tombs at the Trsat Cemetery, but mostly single or double graves covered with stone, marble or ornamented sculptures. Many of the sculptures in the cemetery are the work of sculptor Ivan Rendić, mostly produced in the second phase of his work (1900 - 1925). They have a typical secession spirit and an emphasis on architecture. Much of the rest artwork was made by local sculptors and craftsmen, such as Rude and Vinko Matković, the Širola family, Antonio Marietti and others.