Chopin Heart Exhumed - The heart Chopin of the iconic composer, Frederic Chopin, has reportedly been secured in a jar of liquor in Poland for 155 years. Chopin's heart was exhumed recently in order for experts to ensure that the alcohol had not evaporated before they return the organ to its final resting place.
Music Times says that the details of the story are not 100 percent. However, the legend is still amazing to hear.
Chopin died in Paris in 1849. He reportedly whispered a request that his heart be remove after his death so that it would be entomb in Poland. It is said that he wanted the muscle to rest in his native land he before his self-imposed exile in France.
The world-famous composer's body has since rested in peace at the famed Pere Lachaise cemetery in Paris. Chopin's heart meanwhile, has endured a tumultuous journey of intrigue and worship.
Before Chopin's heart was exhumed, it was first sealed in a jar of liquor, believed to be cognac. After that, it was smuggled into Warsaw past Russian border guards. Upon reaching his hometown in Poland, Chopin's heart was passed on from relative to relative before being enshrined within a pillar in Holy Cross Church.
However, when World War II came, the heart fell into the hands of the Nazis for a brief period of time. Chopin's heart was exhumed several times. The most recent record of it being exhumed was in a secret operation to check whether its tissue still remains well preserved.
The deep fascination with Chopin's heart happened mainly in Poland since the act is normally reserved for the relics of saints. For the Polish people, Chopin's compositions capture the spirit of their nation; therefore the fate of Chopin's heart is reportedly viewed as intertwined with Poland's most significant agonies and triumphs over two centuries of foreign occupation, warfare and liberation.
"This is a very emotional object for Poles," said Michal Witt, a geneticist involved in the inspection of Chopin's heart.
He added that Chopin is "extremely special for the Polish soul."
Chopin experts have wanted to perform genetic testing to determine if Chopin really died at 39 of tuberculosis, or of some other illness, according to the Associated Press.
However, the Polish church and government, custodians of Chopin's heart, have refused requests for any invasive tests for years. This is in part because of a distant living relative of the composer refusing such tests as well.
Finally, after many years of refusal, this year, the custodians have reportedly consented to a superficial inspection. A forensic scientist raised an alarm that the alcohol which Chopin's heart was kept in, could have evaporated, leaving it to dry up and darken.
On April 14, close to midnight, 13 people at the Holy Cross Church, sworn to secrecy reportedly gathered for Chopin's heart to be exhumed. The 13 gathered in the church include the archbishop of Warsaw, the culture minister, two scientists and other officials. They removed the heart from its resting place in total concentration, carried out the inspection, while taking more than 1,000 photos and adding hot wax to the jar's seal to prevent evaporation.
Warsaw's archbishop then recited prayers over the Chopin's heart after exhumation and then it was returned to its rightful place.
"The spirit of this night was very sublime," Tadeusz Dobosz, the forensic scientist told the team.
Polish officials reportedly kept all details of Chopin's heart's recent exhumation secret for five months before telling the public in September. They also did not release photographs of the heart.
Artur Szklener, director of the Fryderyk Chopin Institute in Warsaw, a state body that helps preserve the composer's legacy said no photographs were released as they are mindful of ethical considerations surrounding the display of human remains.
"We don't want this to be a media sensation, with photos of the heart in the newspapers," he said. However, he showed The Associated Press photographs of the organ to prove Chopin's heart was still in good shape. It reportedly appeared like an enlarged white lump in an amber-colored fluid placed in a crystal jar.
Chopin's sister Ludwika, fulfilled his deathbed wish by smuggling the heart across the Polish border while stored in a jar of cognac. It was kept in the family home for several years and Chopin's heart was eventually buried in the Baroque Holy Cross Church, in central Warsaw.
Culture minister Bogdan Zdrojewski, who joined in the April exhumation of Chopin's heart, defended his refusal to allow invasive testing of the heart.
"We in Poland often say that Chopin died longing for his homeland," he said. "Additional information which could possibly be gained about his death would not be enough of a reason to disturb Chopin's heart."
Zdrojewski is now a lawmaker at the European Parliament.
Despite this fact, officials have reportedly already announced plans for another bout of Chopin's heart being exhumed. It is will be set 50 years from now, in 2064.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
