Sępopol Jewish Cemetery

Cemetery Information

Country
Poland
Region
Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship
District
Bartoszyce
Settlement
Sępopol
Site address
Prusa Street, 8A-8B. Sępopol. Cadastral parcels no. 280106_4.0002.124, 280106_4.0002.125/1
GPS coordinates
54.265729, 21.017490
Perimeter length
123 metres
Is the cemetery demolished
yes
Type and height of existing fence
No fenced. Fence is belonging to private properties.
Preservation condition
Demolished and overbuilt Jewish cemetery
General site condition
Jewish cemetery of Sępopol is demolished and overbulit by an estate of single-family houses. No tombstones survived. Almost opposite to the former cemetery area there are information boards with old photos of the city and the history of the KL Stutthof sub-camp in Sępopol.
Number of existing gravestones
No tombstones left.
Date of oldest tombstone
N/A
Date of newest tombstone
N/A
Urgency of erecting a fence
Fence is not needed
Land ownership
Private
Preserved construction on site
No
Drone surveys
No

Historical overview

The Jewish cemetery in Sępopol was established in 1860 in the southern part of the town, on the west side of Roseler Scheunenstrase, now Prusa Street. The description of the object from the second half of the 19th century was included by Gustav Liek in the monograph Sępopol (Die Stadt Schippenbeil mit Beruecksichtigung des Kirchspiels und der Umgegend): “The Jewish cemetery at the end of the Roseler Scheunenstrase. The inscription on the gate in Hebrew and German: ‘Here you will rest from fighting for earth and earthly sufferings, son of man, the body sinks into the grave, the soul rises to the throne of God. ‘On one tombstone the inscription:’ Here lies our beloved son Paul Levy, born on March 10, 1859, died on April 30, 1860 on the day of its foundation cemetery ‘. Eight graves, beautiful flowers’.
The facility was devastated. On October 16, 1961, the Minister of Municipal Economy – in response to the resolution of the Presidium of the Municipal National Council in Sępopol of October 4, 1957 – issued a decision to close the cemetery for burial purposes. The documentation related to the closure stated that the cemetery covers an area of ​​473 square meters, and the last burial took place in 1932. The area was divided into land surveying plots no. 124 and 125/1 and occupied by single-family housing. All traces of the cemetery above ground were blurred.
No form of commemoration of any kind. The cemetery is entered into the Provincial Register of Monuments (No.Z-61/2017).
(K. Bielawski, cmentarze-zydowskie.pl)

“Die Stadt Schippenbeil mit Berücksichtigung des Kirchspiels und der Umgegend” – a monograph on Sępopol and the surrounding area:
https://dlibra.bibliotekaelblaska.pl/dlibra/publication/20659/edition/18272/content

The Jewish Community in Sępopol was small in the first half of the 19th century. In 1843, only 10-13 Jews lived there. Also, when the kehilla was constituted in 1864, it had only a few families. In 1880, there were 58 Jews in the city, in 1890 – 68 (2.26% of the population). One of them was a synagogue, probably built in 1864, which burned down in 1870 and was never rebuilt.
The cemetery belonging to the commune was located at the end of the former Rößeler Scheunenstraße. It started operating on April 30 1860, as can be deduced from the inscription on one of the tombstones – “Hier ruht unser geliebten Sohn Paul Levy, geboren den 10 März 1859, gestorben den 30 April 1860 am Gründungstage des heisigen Friedhofes”. In 1874, there were eight graves.
It is not certain what happened to it in the 1930s. In 1933, about 25 Jews lived there, and in 1944, one of the five KL Stutthof sub-camps was established in Sępopol. Currently, the necropolis is occupied by residential buildings.
(“Żydowskie domy modlitwy oraz cmentarze na Warmii i Mazurach – stan obecny” book by Seweryn Szczepański, 2017; doi.org/10.26774/rzz.165)

Sępopol Jewish Cemetery
Sępopol Jewish Cemetery
Sępopol Jewish Cemetery
Sępopol Jewish Cemetery
Sępopol Jewish Cemetery
Sępopol Jewish Cemetery
Sępopol Jewish Cemetery
Sępopol Jewish Cemetery