Nysa Old Jewish Cemetery

Nysa was given town rights in 1223. The first records of Jewish settlement in the town date back to 1319. In 1410, a wooden synagogue was built. In 1468, the De Non Tolerandis Judeis privilege was adopted. At the beginning of the 19th century, there was a revival of the Jewish community in Nysa. In 1838, a plot of land was purchased for the building of a synagogue. In the 1840s, 278 Jews lived in Nysa (2.5% of the total population). In 1861, the Jewish community numbered 464 people. At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, there was increased migration of the Jewish population to the west. In 1932, only 220 Jews lived in the town, which constituted 0.6% of the total population. After the Night of Broken Glass (Kristallnacht), some Jews left Nysa. In July 1942, the Jews of Nysa were transported to the concentration camp at Auschwitz-Birkenau.

The old Jewish cemetery in Nysa was established probably before 1350, but the first mention of its existence is from May 10, 1423. In 1488, the Jewish community was released from its obligation to pay the cemetery tax, which may indicate that the cemetery was then closed. In 1856, in the foundations of the Św. Barbara Monastery in Nysa, a matzevah was found. It commemorates a man named Aron, who died on November 13, 1350. This may have been the only remnant of the old Jewish cemetery. Other matzevah have not survived.