Muszyna Jewish Cemetery

The Muszyna Jewish cemetery is in the south-eastern part of the town, approximately 1 km from the city centre, at the end of Ogrodowa Street, by the tourist trail, on the western slope of the Malnik mountain. The cemetery is located on a steep slope. The cemetery was likely established towards the end of the 19th century. After the expulsion of town’s Jews and in the post-war years, the cemetery was neglected. Most of the matzevot were taken away and used for utility purposes. Cleaning work in the cemetery only took place in 1995. In 2016, the Nissenbaum Family Foundation funded the construction of a fence. About 80 matzevot—which date between the beginning of the 20th century and the 1930s—have survived. The matzevot are made of Carpathian flysch—a material which deteriorates quickly—so most of them are in poor condition.

Muszyna is a settlement which is located along the route of the Poprad Valley to Hungary was first mentioned in the 13th century. In the 14th century, it was royal property. Around 1340, Muszyna was granted town rights. At the end of the 14th century, the king donated Muszyna and the surrounding towns to the bishops of Kraków. The land, then known as the State of Muszyna, was theirs until 1781. In 1883, 1,852 inhabitants lived in the village, at which time Jews constituted around 8% of the population. In 1910, there were over 2,700 inhabitants, 16% of whom were Jews. After Poland regained independence, Muszyna became a health resort. In 1934, it regained town rights. Before the outbreak of World War II, there were 3,250 inhabitants in the town, 23% of whom were Jews.

Jews were initially forbidden to settle in the town. The prohibition was lifted during the Austrian partition and the Jewish community began to form in Muszyna in the second half of the 19th century. In 1883, only 154 Jews lived in Muszyna, and 433 in 1910. Initially, they belonged to the Jewish community in Nowy Sącz, and they gained independence at the end of the 19th century. In 1939, 748 Jews lived in Muszyna. During the German occupation at the end of 1940, all Jews from health resort towns were displaced, including those from Muszyna, Grybów, and Bobowa, who were sent to the Nowy Sącz Ghetto. The ghetto was liquidated by the Germans in 1942 and the Jews were deported to the death camps in Bełżec and Auschwitz.