Frédéric Chopin was 39 years old and dying of a severe lung illness. He weighed less than 99 pounds. On October 17, 1849, his sister Ludwika sat beside his bed in his last apartment, far from home. Chopin had a particular terror, the fear of being buried alive. According to a report of the scene, he whispered to her, 'The earth is suffocating... swear to make them cut me open.' He also wanted something more. His body would stay in the country of his exile, but he asked that his heart be taken out and carried back to Poland, the homeland he had left nineteen years before. Ludwika was the one he asked. Keeping that promise meant carrying a human heart across guarded borders, past officials who feared what Chopin stood for. Could she get it home?
Chopin's Heart Smuggled to Warsaw
Dying in 1849, Chopin asked his sister Ludwika to take his heart home. It later survived the 1944 destruction of Warsaw.
The Promise at the Bedside
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did Chopin ask for his heart to be removed after death?
Chopin was terrified of being buried alive. He reportedly whispered to his sister Ludwika, 'The earth is suffocating... swear to make them cut me open.' He also saw his heart as belonging to Poland, the homeland he had left two decades earlier.
How did Chopin's heart reach Warsaw?
His sister Ludwika carried the sealed crystal jar by rail from France to Poland. She hid it beneath her cloak or heavy skirts to pass border inspections. Russian customs agents viewed Chopin as a dangerous symbol of nationalism.
What did the 2014 inspection of Chopin's heart find?
Professor Michał Witt and 12 other experts examined the jar in secret on April 14, 2014. They saw white fibrous lesions consistent with tuberculous pericarditis, a likely cause of death. They resealed one small leak with hot wax and did not open the jar.
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