Wall around the cemetery |
This is the largest Jewish cemetery in Europe with over 180,000 graves. Many of the tombs are works of art. I wasn’t able to take pictures; they requested in English and Polish that no photos be taken without permission.
This cemetery, which is still active, offers such contrasts. Izrael Kalmanowicz Poznański, the local textile baron, is buried underneath the largest Jewish tombstone in the world. (Photo below from the internet.) In stark juxtaposition to this mausoleum, visitors are warned to be careful not to step into the trenches along the perimeter of the cemetery. The 800 Jews who served as a clean-up squad in the Ghetto were forced to dig these trenches, which were to serve as their graves. The Nazis, however, were surprised by the speed of the Russian advance and fled before carrying out this mass-murder. (45,000 Jews who did die in the Ghetto here are buried here.) The trenches have been left as a reminder.
The cemetery closes at 5:00 PM, and admission is 4 zl or about $1.50 (unless you’re visiting the grave of a loved one.) This donation is used to help maintain the site.
Note: All references I found online and in travel literature gave the address as being on Ul. Bracka. This entrance is closed. Save yourself some walking and head toward the east wall; the current entrance is on this side.
the Izrael Poznański mausoleum – this has to be a very old photo, the space is not so open now, more tombs and big trees |
An accountant by trade and a food blogger since 2009, Lois Britton fell in love with Polish cuisine during the years she lived in Poznań, Poland. As the creator of PolishHousewife.com, she loves connecting readers with traditional Polish recipes. Lois has a graduate certificate in Food Writing and Photography from the University of South Florida. She is the author of The Polish Housewife Cookbook, available on Amazon and on her website.
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