The

Jewish cemetery A Jewish cemetery ( ''beit almin'' or ''beit kvarot'') is a cemetery where Jews are buried in keeping with Halakha, Jewish tradition. Cemeteries are referred to in several different ways in Hebrew, including ''beit kevarot'' (house of s ...

of Kleinbardorf began operations in 1574 on the so-called ''Steilen'' or ''Wartberg'' southeast of Kleinbardorf, in northern

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

. The area is now known only as ''Judenhügel'' (Jewish hills). The cemetery is located within an early Middle Ages ring wall approximately 1.5 Kilometers long.Rhönlexikon
The grounds has a total area of 21,050 square meters.Informationstafel am Jüdischen Friedhof Kleinbardorf In 1987 there were approximately 4400

gravestones A gravestone or tombstone is a marker, usually stone, that is placed over a grave. A marker set at the head of the grave may be called a headstone. An especially old or elaborate stone slab may be called a funeral stele, stela, or slab. The us ...

and in 1933 there were approximately 20,000 gravestones. The cemetery is the second largest Jewish cemetery in Bavaria, the largest being Munich.Haus der Bayerischen Geschichte
/ref>

History

The family history of the

Bibra family The House of Bibra () was one of the leading ''Uradel'' (ancient noble) families in Franconia (northern part of Bavaria) and present day Thuringia from the mid-15th century to about 1600. Later on the family rose from ''Reichsrit ...

records 1574 as the beginning of the cemetery under George Christof von Bibra and the fees are spelled out.www.synagogenprojekte.de
In 1696/97 Jospe Neustatt paid for the construction of a Tahara House (mortuary) with a stone roof and a stone

ritual purification Ritual purification is a ritual prescribed by a religion through which a person is considered to be freed of ''uncleanliness'', especially prior to the worship of a deity, and ritual purity is a state of ritual cleanliness. Ritual purification ...

table. In 1964 it was renovated by the citizens of Kleinbardorf. In 1769, the Jewish community purchased the cemetery and expanded it and by a further land acquisition in 1843 it reached its present size. The cemetery was desecrated in 1925, between 1933 and 1945, in 1957 and again in 1977. The cemetery was renovated. In 1988 the German Government awarded Mr. Hermann the 'Order of Merit' decoration for his maintenance of the cemetery.www.alemannia-judaica.de
/ref> Besides serving Kleinbardorf, it also served 27 neighbouring Jewish communities as a burial ground, including those from

Bastheim Bastheim is a municipality in the district of Rhön-Grabfeld in Bavaria in Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the A ...

, Eichenhausen, Höchheim, Kleineibstadt, Königshofen, Poppenlauer, Rödelmaier,

Trappstadt Trappstadt is a municipality in the district of Rhön-Grabfeld in Bavaria, Germany. ''Ganerbschaft'' Trappstadt was a ''Ganerbschaft'' which was joint family estate, over which the co-heirs (''Ganerben'') only had rights in common. In the 13th ...

, Unsleben, Massbach and Oberlauringen. The burial register from 1759 to 1938 is still in existence today, as are chronicles of burials between 1800 and 1938.

Local Jewish population locations and trends

Women’s graves

Right of the southwest entrance is a section for women who died in childbirth.

Memorial

In the cemetery there is a

Memorial A memorial is an object or place which serves as a focus for the memory or the commemoration of something, usually an influential, deceased person or a historical, tragic event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects such as home ...

for Jewish fallen of the

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Gallery

File:Judenhügel Kleinbardorf 006.jpg, Ringwall on the perimeter of the cemetery File:Kleinbardorfcem0002.jpg, view from a hot air balloon File:Judenhügel Kleinbardorf 044.jpg, Mortuary or Tahara House File:Judenhügel Kleinbardorf 045.jpg, Inscription acknowledging the donation of the Tara House File:Judenhügel Kleinbardorf 033.jpg, Memorial for Jewish dead

References

External links

{{Commons category, Jüdischer Friedhof (Kleinbardorf)
Jüdischer Friedhof Kleinbardorf
bei www.alemannia-judaica.de

Literature

* WILHELM FRHR. VON BIBRA, ''Beiträge zur Familien Geschichte der Reichsfreiherrn von Bibra, Zweiter Band'' (vol. 2), 1882; page 394 Footnote
Digitized copy
Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek Düsseldorf Kleinbardorf Jews and Judaism in Bavaria Protected areas of Bavaria Buildings and structures in Rhön-Grabfeld Cemetery vandalism and desecration 1574 establishments in the Holy Roman Empire