Seliatyn Jewish Cemetery

Cemetery Information

Country
Ukraine
Region
Chernivtsi
District
Putyla
Settlement
Seliatyn
Site address
To reach the cemetery, proceed for about one kilometre in the western direction from the Saint Vladimir Orthodox Church on Ukrainska street. The cemetery is located behind an abandoned white house. Enter the site through the private yard.
GPS coordinates
47.86944, 25.19388
Perimeter length
178 metres
Is the cemetery demolished
no
Type and height of existing fence
The cemetery is surrounded by a metal mesh fence.
Preservation condition
Fenced and protected Jewish cemetery
General site condition
An old metal fence requires replacing.
Number of existing gravestones
120
Date of oldest tombstone
Date of newest tombstone
1939
Urgency of erecting a fence
Low
Land ownership
Property of local community
Preserved construction on site
Drone surveys
No

Historical overview

The exact period of the cemetery’s establishment is unknown, but it was already operating in the mid-19th century and was marked on a map of the 1880s. According to epigraphic data, it was used until WWII.
Jews settled down in Selyatyn in the second half of the 18th century. Five Jewish families resided here in 1786. The first Jewish settlers were engaged in wood, grain and cattle trading. The first synagogue operated from the mid-19th century. Two other synagogues were built in the early 20th century. By 1910, the Jewish population grew to 1,414. During WWI, the Jewish community suffered pogroms. The Jewish community was organised after the Russian revolution of 1917. It was recognized by the Romanian authority in 1925. In 1930, 737 Jews resided in Selyatyn.  The German-Romanian forces occupied Selyatyn on June 1941. In the first days of occupation, 20 Jews were murdered by the local peasants. In autumn 1941, the Jewish community was expelled to Transnistria.
3D model