Pykiv Jewish Cemetery

Cemetery Information

Country
Ukraine
Region
Vinnytsia
District
Kalynivka
Settlement
Pykiv
Site address
Cemetery does not have an address. The cemetery is located at the end of the Chernychevs’koho Street, in the south side of the village .
GPS coordinates
49.55553, 28.27648
Perimeter length
549 metres
Is the cemetery demolished
no
Type and height of existing fence
The cemetery is unfenced, but surrounded by a thicket and a ditch.
Preservation condition
Unfenced Jewish cemetery
General site condition
The cemetery is overgrown with seasonal vegetation. Clearance is required as some of the tombstones are obscured by the bushes. There is a mass grave on the site from 1942. There is a mass grave, around which the newest graves, which are fenced, are gathered. Some of the tombstones have been repainted. Two women who live on the neighbouring street have been looking after the cemetery. According to local residents, some tombstones have toppled or been damaged due to age and weather. Some locals have been mowing the grass, but they have been doing so as they have been using the site for their own purposes.
Number of existing gravestones
Upwards of 200.
Date of oldest tombstone
1852 (the earliest tombstone found by ESJF).
Date of newest tombstone
1975 (the latest tombstone found by ESJF).
Urgency of erecting a fence
High
Land ownership
Municipality
Preserved construction on site
No
Drone surveys
Yes

Historical overview

The exact period of the cemetery’s establishment is unknown. Given the oldest preserved tombstone is dated 1852, it can be inferred the cemetery was already in use by the mid-19th century.

Jews were first mentioned in Pykiv in 1713 and in 1765, there were 298 Jewish residents. According to the census of 1847, the Jewish population numbered 1,566 Jews. In 1873 there were 3 synagogues in Pykiv and by 1889 there were 4. According to the census of 1897, there were 1,479 Jews living in the town which was nearly 100%. In 1914, Jews owned: a pharmacy goods warehouse, both timber yards, the only mill as well as 36 small shops. On July 10th 1919, the Jewish community survived a pogrom, in which 50 Jews were killed. At the turn of the 19th century there was a synagogue, a Jewish school and a Jewish cemetery. By 1926, there were 1,644 Jews, out of the total of 3,449. In the 1930s there was a Jewish elementary school for 300 children.
Pykiv was occupied in early July 1941. A ghetto was established. 960 Jews were murdered at the cemetery in late May 1942. There was an attempt of revolt.

The exact period of the cemetery’s establishment is unknown. The cemetery was established no later than in the mid 19th century, as the earliest preserved gravestone dates to 1852. The cemetery is marked on the maps from the 1900s of the region. The most recent gravestone is from 1975. There are more than 200 gravestones and a mass grave from 1942. The territory of the cemetery is used for cattle grazing.

3D model