Pinczow Old Jewish Cemetery
Cemetery Information
Historical overview
The cemetery was likely established in the first half of the 17th century, approximately 550m south-east of the market square. It was rectangular and comprised an area of 0.8 hectares. It was fenced with a massive stone wall. During World War I, in 1915, the Russian army built a defense station in the cemetery, using the cemetery wall and many tombstones.
During World War II, the cemetery was completely destroyed, the wall was pulled down and the tombstones were used for construction purposes. After 1950, residential barracks were erected in part of the area. In the 1960s, the area was completely redeveloped into industrial facilities. Currently, there are no traces of the cemetery. After 1980, fragments of tombstones were successively recovered and placed in the lapidarium next to the synagogue. There are several hundred fragments of tombstones made from local limestone, with the oldest tombstone identified so far dating from 1608. Despite the fragmentation, the tombstone forms can be identified, there are mainly traditional stelae, but also chest-shaped forms with a setting and chest-shaped tombstones with a stele. Many of the 17th-century tombstones were created by skilled masons in the Renaissance style.