By morning, visitors to the church saw no trace of the exhumation. ![]() Warsaw’s archbishop recited prayers over the heart and it was returned to its rightful place. ![]() With a feeling of mystery hanging in the air, they worked in total concentration, mostly whispering, as they removed the heart from its resting place and carried out the inspection - taking more than 1,000 photos and adding hot wax to the jar’s seal to prevent evaporation. They included the archbishop of Warsaw, the culture minister, two scientists and other officials. This year, however, they finally consented to a superficial inspection after a forensic scientist raised alarm that after so many years the alcohol could have evaporated, leaving the heart to dry up and darken.Ĭlose to midnight on April 14, after the last worshippers had left the Holy Cross Church, 13 people sworn to secrecy gathered in the dark sanctuary. The Polish church and government, the custodians of the heart, have for years refused requests for any invasive tests, partly because of the opposition of a distant living relative of the composer. Chopin is “extremely special for the Polish soul.”Ĭhopin experts have wanted to carry out genetic testing to establish whether the sickly genius died at 39 of tuberculosis, as is generally believed, or of some other illness. “This is a very emotional object for Poles,” said Michal Witt, a geneticist involved in the inspection. For Poles, Chopin’s nostalgic compositions capture the national spirit - and the heart’s fate is seen as intertwined with Poland’s greatest agonies and triumphs over nearly two centuries of foreign occupation, warfare and liberation. The organ has been exhumed several times, most recently in a secret operation to check whether the tissue remains well preserved.Ĭhopin’s heart inspires a deep fascination in Poland normally reserved for the relics of saints. During World War II, it briefly fell into the clutches of the Nazis. Once in his hometown, Chopin’s heart passed through the hands of several relatives before being enshrined within a pillar in Holy Cross Church. Then it was smuggled into Warsaw past Russian border guards. He wanted the symbol of his soul to rest in the native land he pined for from self-imposed exile in France.Įver since, the composer’s body has rested in peace at the famed Pere Lachaise cemetery in Paris - while his heart has endured a wild journey of intrigue and adulation.įirst it was sealed in a jar of liquor believed to be cognac. WARSAW, Poland - As Frederic Chopin gasped for air on his deathbed in Paris in 1849, he whispered a request that became the stuff of musical legend: Remove my heart after I die and entomb it in Poland.
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