Old Jewish Cemetery in Gliwice

The Old Jewish Cemetery in Gliwice, known as the kirkut, lies in the town centre on Na Piasku Street. It is the oldest surviving monument of Jewish culture in Gliwice. The cemetery was founded in 1815, and its area is 0.63 hectares.

History of the necropolis

The cemetery was established on land that the Jewish community had bought in 1795. At first it lay in the Piasek suburb, outside the built-up area, and after the railway line from Wrocław to Mysłowice and the Gliwice station were built it found itself right by the tracks. The last burial took place in 1937, and the necropolis was closed in 1953. After 1945 gravestones of valuable stone were stolen and used as building material. In 1956 the cemetery was taken from the Jewish community, and in the 1970s its liquidation was planned to make way for a viaduct over the tracks, a plan that was dropped.

Gravestones

About 500 gravestones have survived, set in even rows. Grey sandstone matzevot with inscriptions in Hebrew, or in German and Hebrew, predominate. The most imposing is the tomb of the Meyer family. Buried here are, among others, members of the Troplowitz, Frankel, Freud and Froehlich families, and in the children's section the siblings of Edith Stein. At the entrance stand the ruins of the funeral house, in which after the war a carpentry workshop operated and later a common room.

Today

Since 2010 the cemetery has been opened to visitors from time to time, on the initiative of the association “Pamięć - Zikaron”. In the area lies the Caro Villa, and a little further the Fryderyk Chopin Park.

Practical information

• Entrance: Na Piasku Street, Gliwice.
• The cemetery is opened periodically: check dates and rules of visiting with the association “Pamięć - Zikaron” before a visit.
• This is a place of remembrance; keep quiet and show respect.