Jewish Cemetery in Żarki

On a sandy hill on Polna Street in Żarki, among pines and birches, stand more than 700 matzevot, traditional Jewish gravestones. This is one of the largest surviving Jewish cemeteries in the Kraków-Częstochowa Upland, the limestone Jura region north of Kraków. It was founded in 1821, and the oldest surviving gravestone dates from 1835. Since 2014 you can also see something that survives in only a handful of places in Poland: cast-iron matzevot.

History of the cemetery

The first records of a Jewish community in Żarki date from 1741, although Jews may have settled here as early as the 16th century. In the 1921 census they made up more than half of the town's population. The oldest cemetery, on Górki Street, has not survived. In 2008 the only remaining fragment of a stele from it, dated 1739, was found, and a lapidarium was created around it. The cemetery on Polna Street was the town's second Jewish burial ground and was enlarged several times.

The Jewish community of Żarki was destroyed in the Holocaust. During the liquidation of the ghetto on 6 October 1942, the Germans shot about 300 people in this cemetery. After the war the site fell into decay. Clean-up work in 1983–1985 was funded by Eli Zborowski, a native of Żarki and president of the American and International Societies for Yad Vashem. The lapidarium in the south-eastern corner was built at that time. In 2005 the gravestones were catalogued by local residents, the town council and students of Jewish Studies at the Jagiellonian University.

What to see

• Matzevot and obelisks of sandstone, limestone, marble, granite and concrete from the 19th and 20th centuries. They stand most densely in the south-eastern part.
• Rare symbols, including a twelve-pointed star and a menorah whose base is shaped like griffin heads.
• Sarcophagus-shaped (tumba) tombs, which Poland's National Heritage Board says are rare in cemeteries of this region.
• The lapidarium, a wall about 30 m long set with fragments of gravestones.
• Cast-iron matzevot from 1880, 1886 and 1894.

Interesting facts

The cast-iron matzevot were found by chance in 2013 during earthworks at the Leśniów shrine nearby. They were first taken to the cultural centre in the former synagogue. The Rabbinical Commission in Warsaw decided they should go back to the cemetery, and they were set up again in August 2014. According to the European Jewish Cemeteries Initiative (ESJF), cast-iron matzevot survive in only five or six places in Poland and Europe.

Tripto tip

The cemetery is unfenced and free to visit. It lies in the north-western part of town on Polna Street; park in the centre and walk. The ground is sandy, uneven and overgrown in places, so wear sturdy shoes; it is hard going with a pushchair. Allow 30–45 minutes. Do not step on graves or move the stones. Men traditionally cover their heads, and it is best not to visit on the Sabbath or Jewish holidays. Combine your walk with the lapidarium on Górki Street and other stops on the Żarki Jewish Heritage Trail.