Kopychyntsi Old Jewish Cemetery

Cemetery Information

Country
Ukraine
Region
Ternopyl
District
Husyatyn
Settlement
Kopychyntsi
Site address
To reach the cemetery, turn onto Ivana Mazepy Street next to the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity. Proceed for about 150 metres. Turn right to the secondary road. Proceed for about 140 metres. The cemetery site is located on the right of the road.
GPS coordinates
49.10468, 25.90581
Perimeter length
197 metres
Is the cemetery demolished
yes
Type and height of existing fence
No fence
Preservation condition
Demolished Jewish cemetery that has not been built over
General site condition
The cemetery site is a wasteland.
Number of existing gravestones
No tombstones preserved
Date of oldest tombstone
Date of newest tombstone
Urgency of erecting a fence
Low
Land ownership
Property of local community
Preserved construction on site
Drone surveys
No

Historical overview

The exact period of the cemetery’s establishment is unknown. Presumably, it was established in the 18th century. Today there are no visible traces of the cemetery and its boundaries.

The Jews were known in Kopychyntsi since the late 17th century. Local Jews engaged in crafts in the 17th century and trade in the 18th-19th. The Jewish community emerged in the mid-18th century. 346 Jews resided in Kopychyntsi in 1765. In 1894, a Hasidic court was established by Yitzhak-Meir Geshel (1862 – 1935). The Jewish population reached a peak of 2,467 (35,4% of the total population) in 1890. It declined to 2,109 (29,4% of the total) in 1910. In the early 20th century, five Hasidic synagogues functioned. In 1920, a pogrom staged in the town claimed the lives of local Jews. In July. 1941, the Wehrmacht troops occupied the town, and, in August, they burned a synagogue. On September 30, 1942, around 1,000 Jews were deported to Belzec extermination camp, and more than 50 sick Jews were executed on the spot. In October 1942, the Jewish refugees from the surrounding villages arrived. In December 1942, these refugees were put into a ghetto. The ghetto was liquidated in July 1943. Around 20 Jews, who survived the war, soon left for Poland.

3D model