Stare Powązki Website Ecosystem

Challenge

Stare Powązki means more than 230 years of history, 43 hectares, and the resting place of over a million people, from Władysław Reymont to Czesław Niemen. Several institutions with different needs operate around the cemetery: the cemetery management, the Parish of St. Charles Borromeo, the Stare Powązki Foundation, and an education programme for schools.

Each of them needed its own website, but visitors shouldn't have to wonder where to find gate opening hours, the Mass schedule, lesson bookings or the biography of a specific person. The goal was to build one consistent ecosystem in which every institution has its own place, while the whole looks and works like a single brand.

Solution

We designed and built the entire system: six websites built on a shared codebase and one visual system.

• stare-powazki.pl: the main portal. The entry point to the whole ecosystem. It gathers news from every site in one place and leads to the gallery, the DeNews magazine, the library, the newsletter, the contact form and the support page.
• cmentarz.stare-powazki.pl: the cemetery site. Practical information for visitors: gate and office opening hours, directions and parking, regulations, management announcements and the history of the necropolis since 1790.
• parafia.stare-powazki.pl: the parish site. Pastoral announcements, news, the Mass schedule, parish office hours, information about the sacraments, child protection standards and online donations to the parish.
• fundacja.stare-powazki.pl: the foundation site. The Foundation's news and projects, such as the mausoleum revitalisation and 3D scans of monuments, along with virtual walks, a gallery, a library, podcasts and a full donation page.
• edukacja.stare-powazki.pl: the education portal. Content on history, funerary art and conservation, more than 50 tour topics, free lessons for schools and a booking system with links that pre-select the visit type: school group or individual visit.
• wiki.stare-powazki.pl: the grave search. Our earlier grave search, moved to the new codebase and adapted to the whole ecosystem. A database of more than 200,000 graves, search by name, section, row, dates and profession, a map, biographies and moderated contributions from families and enthusiasts.

All sites share navigation, components and styling, so users move between them seamlessly, while each institution manages its own content.

Results

• One consistent ecosystem instead of scattered websites, with a clear division of roles between the cemetery, parish, foundation and education.
• Visitors find what they need faster: opening hours, the Mass schedule, a lesson booking or a specific grave.
• A shared codebase makes development easier: new features and fixes reach every site at once.
• A stronger Foundation mission: education, donations and contributing to the biography database are within reach from every page.