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Argostoli Jewish Cemetery

Country

Greece

Region

Ionian Islands

District

Kefalonia

Settlement

Argostoli

Site address

The cemetery was located around the intersection of Charokopou Street and Ellinikou Erithrou Stavrou street.

GPS coordinates

38.18412, 20.48480

Perimeter length

380 metres

Is the cemetery demolished

yes

Type and height of existing fence

No fence

Preservation condition

Demolished and overbuilt Jewish cemetery

General site condition

The town’s Archaeological Museum was built on the site of the former cemetery. The museum was was destroyed during the earthquake of 1953, which is marked with a memorial plaque to the destroyed museum. Now, the territory is used as a wasteland and a public park around the memorial, perhaps also as a part of the road. There is also an abandoned municipal building on the site of the former cemetery.

Number of existing gravestones

No tombstones preserved.

Date of oldest tombstone

Date of newest tombstone

Urgency of erecting a fence

Fence is not needed

Land ownership

Municipality

Preserved construction on site

Drone surveys

Yes

The first Jews to settle on the island of Cephalonia lived in Achelous in the 12-13th centuries. Jews were brought to Cephalonia in the 17th century by its governor, who was interested in developing the bookbinding industry. Most lived in the capital, Argostoli. After 1821, when the Greek revolution broke out, many Jews escaping anti-Jewish sentiment settled in Cephalonia. The Jewish population in Cephalonia in 1823 was 130 (of a total of 53,090). Cephalonia was annexed to Greece in 1864. In the 1890s, the community’s financial position was undermined and its members became indifferent to the problems related to Jewish community life. The community was soon dismantled. The Jewish population in 1907 was 18. Only one Jew remained in 1940.

The exact period of the cemetery’s establishment is unknown, but it can be assumed it was founded in the 17th century.

3D model