Zarnowiec Old Jewish Cemetery

The Old Jewish Cemetery in Żarnowiec is located at the intersection of Tadeusza Kościuszki Street and Miechowska Street, about 850 metres south of the market square. The cemetery’s exact establishment date is unknown, though it was probably founded in the 18th century. The cemetery was completely destroyed and no matzevot or other traces of the former cemetery have survived. The cemetery is not marked and there is no form of commemoration.

Żarnowiec was founded under Magdeburg Law between 1326 and 1340. Its foundation status was downgraded in 1870 and it is now a village. The first records of Jewish settlement in Żarnowiec date to the 17th century. An independent Jewish community likely already existed by the 18th century. 386 Jews lived in the town 1791, 1,412 in 1897 (57% of the total population), and 946 in 1921 (44.5%). In 1938, 574 Jews lived in Żarnowiec. During World War II, in February 1941, the Germans sent all Jews from Żarnowiec to the Żarki Ghetto.