Mikolajki Jewish Cemetery

The Jewish cemetery in Mikołajki (German: Nikolaiken) is located approx. 1.1 km south-east of the town center, on the west side of ul. Dybowska. The cemetery occupies a geodetic plot no. 281002 4.0001.465, in the shape of a diamond, with an area of ​​583 square meters. There is no detailed information about the history of the building and its devastation during the Second World War and in the following years. In various publications, the establishment of the cemetery dates back to 1881, but the preserved tombstones from 1862 and 1847/1848 prove that the cemetery was established much earlier. In 2016, 27 matzevot in different states of preservation and 20 graves without tombstones or without legible epitaphs were identified within the cemetery. Some of the matzevot are displaced in relation to the actual burial place. The oldest tombstone is a destroyed matzevah with the name of Icchak and the date of death on 12 [...] 5608 (1847/1848 according to the Gregorian calendar). The youngest matzevah stands on the grave of Georg Schetzer (Yehuda, son of Jakow), who died on December 30, 1931. Burials were carried out in a row arrangement, but without the frequent division into male and female quarters in Jewish cemeteries. The chronological sequence of burials is visible only in the two extreme rows in the western part of the cemetery, where the graves of people who died in the years 1880-1894 are located. The oldest four matzevot from 1847/48, 1862 and 1868 stand in the central part, relatively close to each other, while the decay of the tombstone from 1847/1848 is most likely displaced in relation to the grave. The three youngest tombstones from 1911, 1912, 1931 are scattered in different sectors of the cemetery. Tombstones are usually steles in the form of vertically standing rectangles, ending with horseshoe-shaped arches, concave-convex with a step. Single tombstones are in the form of obelisks. Most of the tombstones are placed on pedestals and pedestals, and the graves are framed. Sandstone and concrete (the latter mainly for framing the graves), less often granite, were used as the material for making the tombstones. The inscriptions were made using the concave method. Mixed inscriptions are the most common, in Hebrew and German, with the priority of the Hebrew language being visible. The Hebrew version was often engraved on the obverse of the tombstone, and the German version - on the reverse, or the Hebrew version at the top, and the German version - at the bottom of the matzevah. Compared to epitaphs from Jewish cemeteries in central Poland, the inscriptions from Mikołajki are relatively short and laconic, limited to the name and surname of the deceased, first and last names of the father and, less frequently, the husband or maiden name, date of birth and death. Decorating the matzevot is limited to separating the inscription field or panel and cutting off the inscription plane from the abutment. From the rich set of symbols characteristic of Jewish sepulchral art, only one tombstone finishes with hands in a gesture of blessing. Other pediments were decorated with geometric and floral motifs. The cemetery is surrounded by a metal mesh fence. No wicket, stolen a few years ago. Along the boundaries of the cemetery there are a dozen lime and ash trees, probably planted in the interwar period. In 2006, thanks to the efforts of the inhabitants of Mikołajki, in cooperation with the Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage, the cemetery was tidied up. He is looked after by members of the Pentecostal Church "Emaus" in Mikołajki. The cemetery is mentioned in tourist publications as one of the attractions of Mikołajki. The object is entered in the register of immovable monuments of the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship – registration number: A-882 of November 22, 1991. (K. Bielawski, cmentarze-zydowskie.pl)