Ostroda Jewish Cemetery
Cemetery Information
Country
Poland
Region
Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship
District
Ostróda
Settlement
Ostróda
Site address
Adjacent to Olsztyńska Street, 7. Ostróda. Jewish cemetery is situated in the backyard of primary school (Olsztyńska, 7). The best direct access path to the Jewish cemetery area is at the back of the primary school right next to a small laundry building. The cemetery in Ostróda is located among Garnizonowa, Olsztyńska and Nadrzeczna Streets. The cemetery is a part of so-called "Polska Górka" (“Polish Hill”, a large cemetery area dotted with graves) in the vicinity of the former Christian cemetery. The main gate to the whole Polska Górka complex is next to the building at Olsztyńska, 9.
GPS coordinates
53.705888, 19.962356
Perimeter length
240 metres
Is the cemetery demolished
yes
Type and height of existing fence
No fence. At the southern border of the cemetery there are remnants of old low stone wall by the two sides of the entrance stairs, which starts behind the school building (Olsztyńska Street, 7).
Preservation condition
Demolished Jewish cemetery that has not been built over
General site condition
Jewish cemetery of Ostróda is situated on hill “Polska Górka” on the northern part of the town. It is the only part without trees (whole Polska Górka is a huge park area forested with old trees), which used to be a school sport field (according to ostrodaonline.pl). Currently the area is an empty, forsaken and littered, with a fireplace in the middle. The area of the former Jewish cemetery is demolished but not overbuilt, there are no tombstones on it. Two survived matzevot are placed in the 1970s amongst Christian graves outside the Jewish cemetery area.
Number of existing gravestones
No tombstones have preserved in situ. Two tombstones from the 1860s, belonging to the Samulon family, were discovered in the 1970s outside the cemetery and returned on Polska Górka. They were placed among Christian tombstones, outside the former Jewish cemetery. One of the preserved matzevot - Salomon Samulon from 1860 - is intact, the other - Justine Samulon from 1865 - is half broken. In 2001 another matzeva was found, but later disappeared ( https://www.ostrodaonline.pl/wiadomosci/60-sensacja-historyczna.html) GPS coordinates of Samulon’s matzevot outside the Jewish cemetery: 53.706469, 19.963034. ESJF photos № 128-133, 138-139, 142.
Date of oldest tombstone
1860
Date of newest tombstone
1865
Urgency of erecting a fence
High
Land ownership
Municipality
Preserved construction on site
No
Drone surveys
Yes
Historical overview
In 1735 the Jews of Ostróda already had their own piece of land and established a cemetery, which was most likely located at the parish church (the present church of St. Dominic Savio). Another cemetery was established after 1788 on the so-called Polska Górka. From 1835, the house of prayer was located at the former Badenstraße (today's Pułaskiego Street). A new Moorish synagogue was built in 1893 on Gartenstraße (today Olsztyńska Street). None of these buildings have survived to modern times.
The cemetery is located on the so-called Polska Górce at Garnizonowa Street covers an area of approximately 0.2 ha. It was originally surrounded by a stone wall. After the devastation in the 1930s, the cemetery was also destroyed in the post-war years. In the years 1946–1948, numerous tombstones were visible.
In 2001, members of the "Sasinia" Cultural Association of Ostróda found another matzevah, which, unfortunately, later disappeared under mysterious circumstances. In 2002, members of the Association tidied up the necropolis. Currently, work is underway to disseminate knowledge about the cemetery itself and the Jewish population living in the city. So far, however, the place of the cemetery has not been marked with an information board.
(“Żydowskie domy modlitwy oraz cmentarze na Warmii i Mazurach – stan obecny” book by Seweryn Szczepański, 2017; doi.org/10.26774/rzz.165)
The Jewish cemetery in Ostróda was established in 1735. It was part of a much larger complex of cemeteries, as evidenced by Christian graves with German inscriptions still located in the vicinity. Even in 1932, there was a cemetery department at the local community, and the Chevra Kadisha brotherhood, established in 1858, also functioned.
(sztetl.org.pl)
