History Written in Stone : the remains of the Catholic cemetery in Czerniowce Podolskie, Ukraine

This article is dedicated to the former Catholic cemetery in Czerniowce Podolskie (Vinnytsia Oblast, Ukraine). In the spring of 2009, a group of students under the supervision of the authors conducted a field study, the purpose of which was to record any remaining tombstone inscriptions, establish the identity of the people interred there, and tidy up the cemetery itself. All the gravestones found date from before the revolution and have inscriptions in the Polish language. The information provided by those inscriptions concerns the parishioners of the Czerniowce parish. It is interesting to note that those names number among the most distinguished noble families of Podolia: Houses of Biliński, Jakubowski, Komarnicki, Nagorniszczewski, Pilawski, Różycki, Sobolewski, Witkowski i Wydżgo. One of the most interesting finds was the sepulchral chapel of the Mańkowski family – very important to the history of the region. The family mausoleum was built in the classical style, in a manner that was characteristic of the nineteenth-century landed gentry of Kresy. Until recently, it has served as a church for the local Orthodox parish. During the field study, a number of facts were established concerning those buried at the cemetery with the use of a comprehensive genealogical, archival and press research, and by interviewing the local residents. It is the authors’ firm belief that even such a ruined cemetery can make a significant contribution to the studies of the region’s past. The history of the lands of Czerniowce should not be deprived of their Polish chapters. The aim of the article is to increase the awareness of scholars and the general public alike and to draw their attention to the fate of the monuments of Polish cultural heritage outside the country.