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Rayhorodok Old Jewish Cemetery

Cemetery Information

Country
Ukraine
Region
Zhytomyr
District
Berdychiv
Settlement
Rayhorodok
Site address
Cemetery does not have an address. From the village council at No.11 Zhovtneva street, drive 70m south and turn left. After another 65m turn right and proceed for 200m, then turn right again. Follow the dirt road for 175m and then turn left and drive another 100m. The tombstones are on the left side of the road.
GPS coordinates
49.8215, 28.37517
Perimeter length
188 metres
Is the cemetery demolished
no
Type and height of existing fence
The site is unfenced.
Preservation condition
Unfenced Jewish cemetery
General site condition
The territory of the cemetery is severely overgrown. It needs clearing. Some tombstones fell down. No clear evidences if there was 1 big cemetery or 2 smaller ones. 1 local says that in childhood they saw the tombstones between the indicated territories, another local says that there was a house in that location instead. The tombstones are barely legible.
Number of existing gravestones
Around 30.
Date of oldest tombstone
1894 (the earliest tombstone found by ESJF).
Date of newest tombstone
1913 (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. It emerged no later than the late 19th century, as the earliest tombstone dates to 1894. It is not marked on any maps.

Jews began to settle in Rayhorodok (Ukr., Rus. Райгородок, Yid. ראַרעדיק) in the early 18th century. By the mid-18th century, there were about 100 Jews in the town. In 1870, 37% of the town’s 509 residents were Jews. The Jewish community maintained 3 prayer houses as of 1885. The Jewish population was 946 (46%) in 1897, but fell to half of that in the interwar period. After the arrival of the Germans in 1941, 125 Rayhorodok Jews were murdered.
The two separate areas with Jewish graves seen today likely belonged to a larger Jewish cemetery. It is not known when the cemetery was founded. The oldest tombstones date back to 1904 and 1916.

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