Popielewo Jewish Cemetery
Cemetery Information
Country
Poland
Region
West Pomeranian Voivodeship
District
Świdwin
Settlement
Popielewo
Site address
The Jewish Cemetery in Popielewo is located opposite the private properties at 1 and 2, Popielewo. Access is directly from the street. The area is not fenced.
GPS coordinates
53.747478, 16.172771
Perimeter length
301 metres
Is the cemetery demolished
no
Type and height of existing fence
There are some remains of an old cemetery stone wall.
Preservation condition
Unfenced Jewish cemetery
General site condition
Unfenced Jewish cemetery with partially preserved old trees. Some places are densely overgrown with bushes and small trees. Relics of the stone cemetery wall have survived around most of the perimeter. The necropolis is adjacent to an asphalt road, and the remaining sides are adjacent to arable fields and rural vegetable gardens. In the north-eastern part of the cemetery, a large boulder with one flattened side was placed (it is not known when, maybe even before World War II), as if prepared to attach a plaque or engraved inscriptions. The cemetery is cut by several well-trodden paths to facilitate access to the fields around it. On one of these paths, close to the road in the southern part of the necropolis, there is a processed stone with the remains of an iron structure attached to it. The necropolis is not marked in any form.
Number of existing gravestones
Two objects were found that are possibly remains of tombstones.
Date of oldest tombstone
Date of newest tombstone
Urgency of erecting a fence
High
Land ownership
Other
Preserved construction on site
Drone surveys
No
Historical overview
The Jewish cemetery in Popielewo already functioned in the mid-18th century. It was located between two synagogues built in this town. It was established on a large strip of land obtained from the owner of the property, in exchange for significant loans granted by Jewish inhabitants of the village. Popielewo belonged to the Drahim starosty and until 1772, it was a Polish enclave with no Prussian restrictions on the Jewish population. For this reason, many Jews who had been displaced from Poland, as well as those who did not receive a permit to live in the cities of Pomerania, settled in Popielewo. As a result, in the 18th century, Jews constituted half of the local population. They settled in Popielewo from the mid-seventeenth century, and in the second half of the following century the number of Jews was around 160. In 1816, Popielewo lost its enclave status, which resulted in most of the Jewish inhabitants leaving the village and moving to towns. In the first half of the 19th century, only two Jewish families remained in the village. The disused cemetery fell into oblivion and the tombstones were gradually stolen by the local population. The only traces of its existence were the still preserved name of Judenberg (Żydowska Góra) and fragments of matzevot, which can still be found in the area.
(West Pomeranian Encyclopedia; http://encyklopedia.szczecin.pl)
The former, once impressive cemetery was covered with vegetation and served as a playground for children, and the tombstones were stolen by peasants who used them for various types of construction works. After 1900, one or two Jewish families, six people in total, returned to Popielewo. They belonged to the commune in Połczyn Zdrój (Bad Polzin). However, any traces of the former Jewish community in this village had disappeared long ago. The cemetery is no longer marked on maps, and only in the 1933 land register, there was a mention of Judenberg (German: a Jewish hill), which at that time belonged to the Jewish community in Połczyn.
(sztetl.org.pl/pl/miejscowosci/p/254-popielewo/99-historia-spolecznosci/137876-historia-spolecznosci)
