Jewish Cemetery in Tarnowskie Góry

The Jewish cemetery in Tarnowskie Góry, at ulica Gliwicka 66, is a necropolis founded in the early 19th century and entered in the heritage register in 2021. About 450 matzevot (gravestones) and a pre-burial house from the late 19th century have survived there.

Founding of the cemetery

The Jewish community in Tarnowskie Góry was formed in 1815, and the consent of the starost of Bytom for a cemetery was issued in 1821. The first burial, of Markus Runkl, took place on 17 March 1822. The first woman of the town to be buried was Johanna Poppelauer, on 30 July 1822. The last burial known by name, of Simon Böhm, took place on 14 July 1938, and burials ceased entirely in the 1970s.

Gravestones and the pre-burial house

The cemetery covered about 0.18 ha, and in 1878 it was enlarged to about 0.62 ha. It consists of three sections; about 241 matzevot stand in their original arrangement. The oldest steles are of sandstone, with inscriptions only in Hebrew; later ones imitate the forms of Christian cemeteries and have inscriptions in Hebrew and German or only in German, and two stones are in Polish. Wealthier families erected granite and marble gravestones.

A small pre-burial house was built in 1874 to a design by Adolf Goerke; the present building from 1894 was designed by Johannes Kindler. It has a ceremonial hall, a mortuary with a room for the ritual washing of the dead, and a caretaker's flat. Fragments of wall paintings and some stained glass have survived, as well as a Kaddish plaque on the north wall.

Destruction and care

During the Second World War the cemetery was largely undamaged. After 1945 it was taken over by the state, and neglect led to ruin: many gravestones were destroyed or stolen. In 1982-1998 the site was secured by the Society of Friends of the Tarnowskie Góry Region. The roof over the main hall was taken down in 2007 because of its technical condition, in 2010 the cemetery was taken over by the county, and in 2011 its care was entrusted to the Tarnowskie Góry Foundation for Culture and Art. Since 2020 the site has been protected and made accessible by the Gliwicka 66 association, and the wall was renovated in 2023.

Nearby is the synagogue in Tarnowskie Góry, less than a kilometre away.

Practical information

• Address: ul. Gliwicka 66, Tarnowskie Góry.
• The site is surrounded by a brick and stone wall with two cast-iron gates on the west side.
• The Gliwicka 66 association sets the rules for entry; the cemetery is a place of remembrance, so quiet behaviour is expected.