Old Jewish Cemetery, Cieszyn
| Jewish cemetery in Cieszyn | |
|---|---|
 General view picture of the cemetery | |
 | |
| Details | |
| Established | 1647 |
| Location | st. Hażlaska 39, Cieszyn |
| Country | Template:Country data poland |
| Coordinates | 51°5′11.16″N 17°1′33.36″E / 51.0864333°N 17.0259333°E |
| Type | Religious |
| Owned by | The Jewish Community in Bielsko-Biala |
| Size | 1.9 hectares |
Old Jewish Cemetery, on the street Hażlaska 39 in Cieszyn, is one of two (next to the New Jewish Cemetery) Israelite cemetery in town and also the oldest of them.
Land for the cemetery was purchased in 1647 and has since belonged to the family of Singers.[1] In 1785 the cemetery was ceased to be private property — sold to the Jewish community in Cieszyn. The last burial in the cemetery took place in 1928. In 1986 the cemetery was added to the register of monuments. The cemetery now belongs to the Jewish Community in Bielsko-Biala.[2]
To date,[2] the cemetery retains more than 1,500 graves. The cemetery has an area of 1.9 hectares and is surrounded by a brick fence.[3]
History
Private cemetery of Singer family
The origins of the cemetery are related to Jacob Singer - founder of the the oldest Jewish family living permanently in Cieszyn. In 1631 he signed a lease agreement "Cieszyn toll" with Princess Elizabeth Lucretia, and the Duchess of instruction of 23 April 1647 made him - a princely collector of taxes - with extensive privileges, such as the freedom to profess Judaism and acceptance of a device family cemetery for the deceased Singer.[4]
Jacob Singer purchased area of so called "Winogrady" in the same year from a townsman John Kraus. "Winogrady" became the nucleus of today's cemetery. Singer James was buried on it as the first but his tomb has not survived to modern times. Following the edict of Charles VI in 1713 there was a tolerant of the Jewish population influx into the city and therefore the cemetery burials took place much more frequently than before. In the absence of burial sites, Singers bought the piece of land together with the house of John Faber in 1715, and the field piece from Susan Berisch in 1723.[5] The building obtained embedded servant who looked after the cemetery.
At the time of Maria Theresa, cemetery was widely used by Jews from Cieszyn and surrounding areas. In 1768 Singers (Singer Hirschel and his sister, Endel, widow of Jacob Oppenheimie) again enlarged the area of the cemetery through the purchase of an adjacent garden of former folwark. They maintained a gravedigger during that period, and high charges levied the burial, although 20% poor Jews were buried on their own account with the addition of garb.[6]
Cemetery owned by the municipality
On march 31, 1785, the Moses Hirschel Singer sold the area for 900 florins to 88 Jewish families in Cieszyn and since then ceased to be a private cemetery owned by the Singers family. The cemetery was constantly expanded - the plot of Paul Płoszka was purchased in 1802, and the exploited area of the quarry in 1836. Then the cemetery reached its final shape. Around 1820, a hospital was built at the cemetery for poor Jews, and in 1830, the cemetery was surrounded by a brick wall.[7] In the 2nd half of the nineteenth century, a funeral house, a flat for the guards and stables for horses and hearse were built which still exist today. This building was a gift from Emanuel A. Ziffer - a srailway pecialist from Austria - and was dedicated to the memory of his parents, according to the board.[8]
References
- ^ Burchard gives the date of creation of the cemetery as eighteenth century
- ^ a b Data for the year 2009
- ^ Burchard specifies the number of preserved gravestones as about 500
- ^ Janusz Spyra (ed.), op. cit p.8
- ^ Janusz Spyra (ed.), op. cit p. 30
- ^ J. Spyra, Old Jewish cemetery in Cieszyn, p. 94th
- ^ Janusz Spyra (ed.), op. cit p. 31
- ^ Stary cmentarz żydowski (ul. Hażlaska). cieszyn.pl. Accessed December 24, 2011.
Bibliography
- Spyra J., Stary cmentarz żydowski w Cieszynie [The old Jewish cemetery in Cieszyn], "Kalendarz Cieszyński 1997", Cieszyn 1996, p. 92-95
- Żydowskie zabytki Cieszyna i Czeskiego Cieszyna [Jewish monuments of Cieszyn and Bohemian Cieszyn] edited by Janusz Spyra, 1999 ISBN 83-908299-8-3
- Żydzi w Polsce. Dzieje i kultura – leksykon [The Jews in Poland. The history and culture-encyclopedia], 2001, ISBN 83-86859-58-X
- Burchard Przemysław (1990). Souvenirs and Jewish monuments in Poland. Warsaw. pp. 199–200.
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