Bystre Jewish Cemetery

The Brezovica Jewish Cemetery existed in the beginning of the 19th century, with one of the matzevot dating back to 1822. It can be found marked on an Austrian map of the region from the 1880s and was surveyed and described in 2007 by the Heritage Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Cemeteries (HFPJC), who erected a stone wall around it.

Jews supposedly settled in Brezovica in the early 19th century, with a private house serving as the community’s first synagogue, before the construction of a wooden one in 1828. Rabbi Joseph Gazfried (author of Kesset ha-Sofer and other halachic books) was Rabbi of Brezovica from 1843-1851.

In 1870, a new Synagogue was built. By 1900, Brezovica had a population of 1,254, 161 of whom were Jewish. In 1925, a fire destroyed a number of Jewish properties, including the home of the local Rabbi. In 1940, the village was home to 85 Jews.

The deportation of Jewish residents began in March 1942. Of the Jews who were able to remain in the village, some went to join the partisans. In 1948, following the war, 5 Jews remained in the village. They were repatriated to Israel a year later. Today, there are no Jews in the village.