There were two Jewish cemeteries in

Ostrów Wielkopolski Ostrów Wielkopolski () (often abbreviated ''Ostrów Wlkp.'', formerly called simply ''Ostrów'', , Latin: ''Ostrovia'') is a city in west-central Poland with 70,982 inhabitants (2021), situated in the Greater Poland Voivodeship; the seat of Ostr ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. Under an agreement between the town administration and the Jewish community, a

lapidarium A lapidarium is a place where stone (Latin: ) monuments and fragments of archaeological interest are exhibited. They can include stone epigraphy, epigraphs; statues; architectural elements such as columns, cornices, and acroterions; bas relief ...

, collection of stone monuments was made using remaining gravestones from the two sites. In 2006, the architectural recording and preservation of the surviving tombstones work began and a proposal for the construction of the monument was initiated; the construction was made by April 2007.

The Old Cemetery

The first cemetery was built in the center of the Jewish quarter (the west side of the town square) in the beginning of the eighteenth century. It measured only and was closed by 1780. In 1877, the site was cleared and planted over with greenery. To commemorate the peace following the

Franco-German War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Jan ...

(1870–1871), the area was named Lasek Przyjaźni (The Grove of Friendship). During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the entire area along with the

Jewish quarter Jewish Quarter may refer to: *Jewish quarter (diaspora), areas of many cities and towns traditionally inhabited by Jews *Jewish Quarter (Jerusalem), one of the four traditional quarters of the Old City of Jerusalem *Jewish Quarter (), a popular name ...

was destroyed. During the communist era an electric transformer was set up on the site.

The New Cemetery

The new cemetery was created on the northern outskirts of Ostrów (western edge of the so-called New Quarter), the same year the old cemetery was closed. In 1873, a funeral home was raised up on a lot nearby. During World War II, the tombstones were removed and used as building material. Until 1960, a gardening center operated on its place and then in the 70s, a school was built there. Parts of the land along with the burial remains were then used to build a route into the town center.

Six Branch Menorah

In April 2007, to commemorate the Jewish residents of Ostrów Wielkopolski, the town authorities erected monuments and fenced some of the former cemetery. Unfortunately, the menorahs that are the elements of the fence have only six branches. According to the town authorities' agreement with the Jewish community, the local government was supposed to contact the representatives of the Jewish community regarding any construction work. This did not happen. Also the authorities underestimated its citizenry who pointed out the error in the fence. Its construction was finalized with the error.

Notes and references

Nowy cmentarz żydowski w Ostrowie Wielkopolskim
na portalu

Virtual Shtetl The Virtual Shtetl () is a bilingual Polish-English portal of the Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw, devoted to the Jewish history of Poland. History The Virtual Shtetl website was officially launched on June 16, 2009 by founder A ...

(Wirtualny Sztetl)
Stray cmentarz żydowski w Ostrowie Wielkopolskim
na portalu Wirtualny Sztetl
Lapidarium z Alei słowackiego

* ttp://kirkuty.xip.pl/ostrow_wielkopolski.htm Zdjęcia archiwalne z rozbieranych cmentarzy oraz oczyszczanie pozostałych fragmentów macew {{DEFAULTSORT:Jewish cemeteries in Ostrow Ostrów Wielkopolski Jewish cemeteries in Poland Religious buildings and structures in Greater Poland Voivodeship Holocaust locations in Poland Cemetery vandalism and desecration