Wydminy Jewish Cemetery
Cemetery Information
Country
Poland
Region
Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship
District
Giżycko
Settlement
Wydminy
Site address
Approximately 300 meters from Składowa Street (in a straight line to the north-west). The best access is via the road along the railway embankment (extension of Leśna Street), and then left about 120 m along a forest road. The cemetery is on the sloping side of the hill, at the end of a wooded plot.
GPS coordinates
53.97952, 22.02489
Perimeter length
79 metres
Is the cemetery demolished
no
Type and height of existing fence
No fence.
Preservation condition
Unfenced Jewish cemetery
General site condition
The cemetery is located at the end of the hill, on its already descending part. It is adjacent to a young pine-birch forest. Several remains of graves and matzevot bases have been preserved on the site. The area is not overgrown, but it is difficult to see the survived burial places in the thick grass. Directly next to the cemetery, someone arranged a fireplace around which they collected smaller and large stones (perhaps from the cemetery area). They also left garbage, partially packed in a plastic bag.
Number of existing gravestones
6 tombstones. 4 damaged matzevot bases (one well preserved) and 2 tomb frames were found.
Date of oldest tombstone
N/A
Date of newest tombstone
N/A
Urgency of erecting a fence
High
Land ownership
Municipality
Preserved construction on site
No
Drone surveys
Yes
Historical overview
The cemetery in Wydminy was probably established in the mid-nineteenth century, it served a small community inhabiting the town and its vicinity. Originally, the cemetery could cover almost 0.02 ha, now its relics are located on the edge of a low moraine, about 590 m south-west of the church and about 180 m south of the railway line at the edge of a small forest. Access to the cemetery is possible via a field path. The cemetery is currently in ruins. Originally, there could be nearly 30 tombstones of the followers of Judaism. At the turn of the 1980s and 1990s, several tombstones were still preserved. Currently, only five are available in the form of tombs and matzevot bases.
(“Żydowskie domy modlitwy oraz cmentarze na Warmii i Mazurach – stan obecny” book by Seweryn Szczepański, 2017; doi.org/10.26774/rzz.165)
