Shpola Jewish Cemetery
Cemetery Information
Country
Ukraine
Region
Cherkasy
District
Shpola
Settlement
Shpola
Site address
The cemetery is located between Lesi Ukrainky Street, Tarantsia Street, and Ostrovs'koho Street.
GPS coordinates
49.01807, 31.39567
Perimeter length
977 metres. The perimeter is approximate. It includes the demolished section and does not include the Christian section (it appears this was demolished too). Nowadays, it is hard to accurately define the border between the sections. Some maps (from the 19th century to the early 20th century) show the Jewish cemetery occupied both sections.
Is the cemetery demolished
no
Type and height of existing fence
No fence
Preservation condition
Unfenced Jewish cemetery
General site condition
The older section of the cemetery is severely overgrown and partially demolished. The southwestern section, which represents the majority of the site, has been appropriated for agricultural use. One of the tombstones near the ohel was removed from its proper place. The modern section is somewhat overgrown with bushes. There is a Christian cemetery nearby.
Number of existing gravestones
200. Most of the gravestones were buried in a pit on the cemetery site.
Date of oldest tombstone
1922
Date of newest tombstone
2010 (presumably, still operational)
Urgency of erecting a fence
High
Land ownership
Property of local community
Preserved construction on site
There is an ohel dedicated to Rabbi Yehuda Leib of Shpola, son of Barukh, who died in 1812.
Drone surveys
No
Historical overview
The exact period of the cemetery’s establishment is unknown. However, as it appears on Russian maps as far back as the 1860s, it was most likely founded in the mid 19th century. It can also be found marked on later maps, from 1941. The oldest preserved tombstone dates to the first half of the 20th century.
