Staryy Ostropil Old Jewish Cemetery

Cemetery Information

Country
Ukraine
Region
Khmelnytskyy
District
Starokostiantyniv
Settlement
Staryy Ostropil'
Site address
The cemetery is located adjacent to 16, Kalinina Street.
GPS coordinates
49.8002, 27.55037
Perimeter length
343 metres
Is the cemetery demolished
yes
Type and height of existing fence
The cemetery is surrounded by a concrete fence of 2.5 metres height with metal gates. It is locked with a combination lock.
Preservation condition
Fenced and protected Jewish cemetery
General site condition
The cemetery is well-maintained. The fence is in excellent condition.
Number of existing gravestones
87
Date of oldest tombstone
1901
Date of newest tombstone
1916
Urgency of erecting a fence
Fence is not needed
Land ownership
Property of local community
Preserved construction on site
There is an ohel of Rabbi Shimshon of Ostropil' (died in 1648), installed by the Ohalei Tzadikim — Gader Avot union in 2017.
Drone surveys
Yes

Historical overview

The exact period of the cemetery’s establishment is unknown. It appears on old maps from the end of the 19th century. There are no preserved gravestones older than early 20th century. There are revived borders of a mass grave of the victims of the Khmelnytsky Uprising dated to the mid-17th century, so it can be assumed that the Jewish cemetery existed during that period. The fence was installed by the Ohalei Tzadikim — Gader Avot union in 2014.

The Jews of Staryy Ostropil’ suffered in the Khmelnytskyi massacres in 1648. A wooden synagogue, built in the 17th century, preserved till the early 20th. A Yiddish prankster and a badchen (comedian) of Tzaddik Boruch of Medzhybizh, Hershele Ostropoler was born here in 1757. In 1765, 122 Jews resided in Staryy Ostropil’. According to the census of 1897, there were 2,714 Jewish residents (36% of the total population). A Talmud-Torah and Jewish private vocational school were in operation in 1910. The Jewish population declined to 1,325 in 1926 and continued to decrease to 1,063 in 1939. A Jewish rural council and elementary school functioned under the Soviets. On July 10, 1941, the Wehrmacht occupied the town. In late June 1942, 581 Jews of Staryy Ostropil’ were executed in Starokostyantyniv together with the Jews from other districts. The remnants (73 people) were expelled to Lubar in Zhytomyr district, where they were murdered.

3D model