Zalewo Jewish Cemetery
Cemetery Information
Country
Poland
Region
Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship
District
Iława
Settlement
Zalewo
Site address
Adjacent to Sienkiewicza Street, 20A. Zalewo. Cemetery is situated on the southern bank of the small river Zalewka (also known as Trumpina). Residential house on Sienkiewicza, 20A adjoins southern border of the cemetery area. According to Google maps, the cemetery is located at Sienkiewicza Street, 26.
GPS coordinates
53.852245, 19.605175
Perimeter length
108 meters – perimeter of the fenced area, 312 meters – perimeter of the historical cemetery area according to the old maps (Meßtischblatt 1930, 1944)
Is the cemetery demolished
no
Type and height of existing fence
Cemetery is fenced by the metal mesh fence (about 1.6 m high) from the south, east and west sides. From the north, from the side of Zalewka brook, it isn’t fenced. The current fencing was installed in 2003-2004 by local Association "Więź Społeczna" together with the Stefan Batory Foundation.
Preservation condition
Fenced and protected Jewish cemetery
General site condition
Jewish cemetery of Zalewo is situated on the northern outskirts of the town. The cemetery is well-maintained, clean (no litters), not very overgrown by ground vegetation. The area is marked by the two information boards. One ash tree has survived from the old tree stand. The layout of the graves and many tombstones have preserved.
Number of existing gravestones
44 graves fragments (frames and pedestals) in various states of preservation, including 20 tombstones (complete or broken). Personal data from the tombstones at the Jewish cemetery in Zalewo is available on cmentarze-zydowskie.pl
Date of oldest tombstone
1850, 1854
Date of newest tombstone
1910, 1913
Urgency of erecting a fence
Low
Land ownership
Municipality
Preserved construction on site
No
Drone surveys
Yes
Historical overview
In 1829, a merchant, Josef Saul Rosenbach, bought a plot of land for a religious cemetery from a blacksmith, Polenkowski, for 15 thalers. The plot had an area of 6 morga of Magdeburg (approx. 0.15 ha; now 0.041142 ha) and was located on the road leading to Pasłęk, close to the Zalewka river. Currently, the address of this place is 20A Sienkiewicza Street (according to the monument card).
The last known burial took place at the end of the 1930s. 14 tombstones have survived to this day, the oldest of which dates back to 1860. It belongs to Jacob Lachmann, who died on December 20, 1860. Josef Saul Rosenbach, the founder of the necropolis, is also buried in the cemetery.
Sandstone matzevot have decorations typical of the second half of the 19th century and inscriptions in Hebrew and German. There are also monuments in the form of an obelisk, as well as traces of graves in cement casings - there are about 30 graves in total. The layout of the cemetery is still legible - there were 9 rows of graves. The entire complex is a valuable monument of great historical, cultural and landscape importance. The entry in the register of monuments took place on January 9, 1992 under the number A-3970.
(sztetl.org.pl)
The Jewish cemetery in Zalewo was established by the merchant Josif Saul Rosenbach in 1829. The same merchant, together with Salomon Laserstein, bought the square at Więzienna Street, along with the bell-ringer's house, where a house of prayer was established. Rosenbach enjoyed great trust among the inhabitants as in 1840 he was elected to the Town Council. His grave is to this day in the Jewish cemetery, right at its beginning, next to a characteristic tree. The cemetery covers an area of about 0.10 ha, and 44 graves were located during the field research carried out on October 14, 2006. Most of them are framed, some still have matzevot. Most have inscriptions in Hebrew, some are bilingual - Hebrew-German.
Until the end of the 1990s, it was overgrown, unmarked and gradually deteriorated. In 2004, the area was cleared and fenced. There is also an information board. The cemetery is one of the best-preserved objects of this type in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship.
(K. Bielawski, cmentarze-zydowskie.pl)
