Gdańsk Wrzeszcz Jewish Cemetery (formerly known as Danzig-Langfuhr Jewish Cemetery)
Cemetery Information
Historical overview
The Jewish cemetery in Wrzeszcz was established in the 18th century, most probably before 1775. It was situated in the southern part of the settlement, in the vicinity of the Święta Wells manor, in the range of moraine hills, on Królewski Wzgórze. Currently, the cemetery can be easily reached from ul. Romuald Traugutt.
The cemetery was devastated by Russian soldiers in 1813 during the Napoleonic Wars. Due to the desecration of the necropolis, no burials were organized there for 10 years. Only after 1823, the cemetery started to be used again. It was open until 1939, when the Jewish community sold its area to the Senate of the Free City of Gdańsk. The formal closure took place only in 1946.
The necropolis had the shape of an irregular polygon. Currently, there are steps leading through its centre, at which the casing of the graves made of bricks has been preserved. There are several significant fragments of matzevot in the cemetery. As Monika Leniewicz writes – Currently (…) there are only seven tombstones left, the oldest of which dates back to 1823. Currently, it is very difficult to find the few matzevot that remind us of the Jewish cemetery that used to be here, because most of the tombstones are overturned and lie disgraced in the bushes.
Currently, the cemetery is part of the nearby forest and is treated as a place for walks.
(sztetl.org.pl)