Kapciamiestis Jewish Cemetery
Cemetery Information
Country
Lithuania
Region
Alytus County
District
Alytus
Settlement
Kapciamiestis
Site address
Mechanizator Street.
GPS coordinates
54.00904, 23.65294
Perimeter length
215 metres
Is the cemetery demolished
no
Type and height of existing fence
Type of the fence
Preservation condition
Fenced and protected Jewish cemetery
General site condition
Fenced and protected Jewish cemetery. There is some seasonal vegetation on the cemetery.
Number of existing gravestones
around 70.
Date of oldest tombstone
1887 (the earliest tombstone found by ESJF).
Date of newest tombstone
1931 (the latest tombstone found by ESJF).
Urgency of erecting a fence
Fence is not needed
Land ownership
Property of local community
Preserved construction on site
Drone surveys
No
Historical overview
Given the oldest preserved tombstone is dated 1887, it can be inferred the cemetery was founded no later than the late 19th century.
Jews began to settle in Kapčiamiestis (Pl. Kopciowo, Yid. קאָפּטשעווע) around 1800. In 1897, the town had a Jewish population of 528, or 40% of the total. Under the Lithuanian independent state, there were about 50 Jewish families in Kapčiamiestis. Zionist organisations operated until the Soviet occupation in 1940. After the German invasion in 1941, the Jews of Kapčiamiestis were taken to the ghetto in Katkiškė and were murdered on 3 November 1941.
