Mezhyriv Old Jewish Cemetery

According to Commission on the Preservation of Jewish Heritage, the cemetery was established in the 17th century, and was demolished in the 1930s. Local residents claim there were tombstones on the site in the 1960s.

The town of Mezhyriv was first mentioned in the early 16th century, with a Jewish community existing from the foundation of the town. By the end of the 16th century, Mezhyriv was a flourishing town and in 1591 it gained town rights under Magdeburg law. In 1612 it was destroyed by Tartars and soon restored. From 1569 the region belonged to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Between 1640 and 1659 Cossacks, and Poles, and Tartars, and Turks occupied Mezhyriv, with many pogroms affecting the Jews. In 1787, a Jewish printing house was established there.
In 1793, after the Second partition of Poland, it came under the control of the Russian Empire, and became part of the Podolia Governorate (Podolskaya Gubernia). In 1847, the Jewish community of Mezhyriv numbered 986 members. In 1889, there were two synagogues. In 1897, Jews comprised almost 60% of the town population (1345 of 2268). In October 1905 an Anti-Jewish pogrom took place in the town. In 1914 Mezhyriv already had three synagogues, and Mezhyriv’s Jews owned a pharmacy and 20 small shops (including 20 groceries and 5 factories), the majority of the jewihs community were engaged in crafting. Between 1918-1919 more pogroms affected Mezhyriv’s Jews.
After 1922, Mezhyriv became part of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic within the USSR. In 1923 the Jewish population of Mezhyriv numbered 795. In 1925, Mezhyriv’s Jewish natives (20 families, 107 people) founded an agricultural commune. In 1926 the Jewish population was 1015.
In Jule 1941, Mezhyriv was occupied by the German troops. In February and in April 1942, many Mezhyriv Jews were shot to death. In 1991, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Mezhyriv became part of the independent Ukraine. Today Mezhyriv is a tiny town with no Jews.

The Old Jewish cemetery was established in the 17th century, and demolished in the 1930s. The locals remember the remnants of the stones in the 1960s.