Barczewo Jewish Cemetery
Cemetery Information
Country
Poland
Region
Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship
District
Olsztyn
Settlement
Barczewo
Site address
Warmińska Street, 48 Street. Barczewo. Former cemetery area is situated opposite to the building at Warmińska, 41.
GPS coordinates
53.830615, 20.685163
Perimeter length
129 metres
Is the cemetery demolished
yes
Type and height of existing fence
No fence. A small area around the memorial stone is fenced with a simple wooden fence, about half a meter high. It needs some repairs (some sections are bended)
Preservation condition
Demolished Jewish cemetery that has not been built over
General site condition
Jewish cemetery of Barczewo is situated on the western outskirts of the town. Cemetery area is demolished and unfenced. The area well-kept meadow - the grass is mowed, no shrubs, no litter. There is a memorial stone and some high deciduous trees behind the memorial (small park).
Number of existing gravestones
About 15 tombstones from the cemetery are gathered in the lapidarium next to the synagogue (Kościuszki 9 Street). No tombstones have preserved in situ. About 15 tombstones from the cemetery are gathered in the lapidarium next to the synagogue (Kościuszki 9 Street). The synagogue was closed that day, but our field team took some pictures over the fence. List of tombstones from Wartenburg/Barczewo lapidarium is available on http://cmentarze-zydowskie.pl/barczewo.htm and http://www.jewsineastprussia.org/
Date of oldest tombstone
1882
Date of newest tombstone
1930
Urgency of erecting a fence
High
Land ownership
Other
Preserved construction on site
Yes, a memorial.
Drone surveys
No
Historical overview
The Jewish cemetery in Barczewo was established in 1871 on Guttstädter Strasse (now Warmińska Street), approximately 450 meters northwest of the town center. Situated outside the built-up area, the cemetery occupied an elongated rectangular plot of land. It was noted for having a wooden preburial house at the entrance.
During World War II, the cemetery suffered partial devastation, with some matzevot (tombstones) repurposed for German soldier graves. However, the overall structure survived the war in relatively good condition. In the early 1970s, the cemetery was still enclosed by a mesh fence, and it housed around 100 tombstones.
On October 16, 1961, the Ministry of Municipal Economy issued a decision to officially close the cemetery for further burials. In 1976, local authorities made the decision to remove the gravestones from the cemetery. Some were acquired by the Masurian Museum, while others were either buried in a gravel pit or utilized by local stonecutters. The cemetery site subsequently saw the introduction of pigs and a shed.
In 1995, a boulder with a commemorative plaque bearing the inscription "The place of the former Jewish cemetery" was installed at the edge of the cemetery. A section of the cemetery was enclosed by a wooden fence. Then, in 2017, through the efforts of various individuals, including Krystyna Szter from the Social and Cultural Association "Pojezierze," approximately 20 recovered tombstones were relocated to the yard of the former synagogue in Barczewo.
