Museum of Cemetery Art – Old Jewish Cemetery

The Old Jewish Cemetery in Wrocław (say "VROTS-wahf"), on Ślężna Street, is one of the most remarkable Jewish burial grounds in Central Europe and today operates as the Museum of Cemetery Art, a branch of the Wrocław City Museum. Around 12,000 gravestones survive on 4.6 hectares (11 acres), from simple matzevot to temple-like family tombs. If you want to understand the city that was German Breslau until 1945, this quiet, overgrown site is one of the best places to start.

A short history

The Jewish community bought the land in 1856, and the first burial took place on November 17 that year; the ground was consecrated by Rabbi Abraham Geiger, a founding figure of Reform Judaism. In 1912 new administrative buildings and a chapel by the architects Paul and Richard Ehrlich were built by the gate. The last burial was in 1942, as the Nazi regime deported Breslau's Jews.

During the 1945 siege of "Fortress Breslau" fighting reached the cemetery, and bullet marks are still visible on some stones. After the war the city became Polish Wrocław. The cemetery was listed as a historic monument in 1975 and has been open as a museum since 1988.

What to see

The variety of styles is striking: classical colonnades, Moorish Revival and Egyptian-inspired tombs, Art Nouveau steles and German-language epitaphs show how prosperous and assimilated the community was. Look for the graves of:

• Ferdinand Lassalle, founder of Germany's first workers' party,
• Heinrich Graetz, pioneering historian of the Jewish people,
• Ferdinand Cohn, botanist and a founder of bacteriology,
• Auguste and Siegfried Stein, parents of Edith Stein, the philosopher and Catholic saint who died at Auschwitz.

A lapidarium holds fragments of medieval tombstones from older city cemeteries, including one dated 1203.

Planning your visit

Allow 60–90 minutes. From May to September the museum runs Sunday guided walks (in Polish) included in the ticket; for an English-language tour, contact the museum in advance. Paths are uneven, and the museum states the site is not accessible for visitors with reduced mobility. Photo shoots and promotional filming are not allowed.

Hours and tickets, as of October 2026, per the City Museum:

• April–October: daily 9 a.m.–6 p.m.
• November–March: daily 9 a.m.–4 p.m.
• tickets PLN 20 standard, PLN 15 reduced.

Getting there

The entrance is on Zaułek Ferdynanda Lassalle'a, off Ślężna Street, about 1.5 km (1 mile) south of Wrocław Główny train station. Trams and buses stop at "Uniwersytet Ekonomiczny". Wrocław Airport is about 25–30 minutes away by taxi, and fast trains link the city with Kraków and Warsaw.

Is it worth visiting?

Yes, especially if you are interested in Jewish heritage, 19th-century art or the German past of Silesia. Combine it with the White Stork Synagogue in the Old Town, the city's only surviving prewar synagogue, for a fuller picture of Jewish Wrocław. Come in the morning or late afternoon, when low light brings out the carved reliefs, and dress for damp, leafy paths in fall. Signage is mostly in Polish, so a little reading up beforehand (or a guided walk) adds a lot.