Obj. ID: 14106
Jewish Funerary Art New Jewish cemetery in Nowy Sącz (Tsanz), Poland
According to ESJF European Jewish Cemeteries Initiative, the cemetery is located approximately 650 metres north of the city square, between Rybacka and Flisaków Streets, on an irregular plot with an acreage of 32,357 square metres. Its establishment date is unknown, though the cemetery was most likely established in the second half of the 19th century. In 1876 the cemetery became the burial site of tzadik Rabbi Chaim Halberstam (Tsanzer Rov; Divrei Chaim), founder of the Sanz Hasidic dynasty. In the following years, further leaders of Sanz Hasidim were buried in the cemetery and an ohel was built over their graves. At the beginning of the 20th century, there was a mortuary in the cemetery.
During World War II, the cemetery was used for carrying out executions. German forces killed no less than several hundred Jews and Poles there. At that time, the cemetery was seriously damaged. After 1945, the cemetery came under the purview of the County Jewish Committee and the Jewish Religious Congregation of Nowy Sącz. In the following years, the cemetery was surrounded by a fence and cleaned. Tombstones found elsewhere in the city were brought back, and the ohel was rebuilt. The cemetery continued to be in active use for some time and was the burial site for the exhumed remains of Holocaust victims from Limanowa and other places. In 1959, the government erected a memorial for those killed by the Germans during the war. In the following decades, the area was overseen by Jakub Müller, and currently falls under the purview of the Hasidic foundation Bnei Sanz.
There are several hundred tombstones in various conditions in the cemetery, the majority of which have been replaced and are not in their original place. The main path has two ohelim, Rabbi Aszer Zelka’s and Chaim Halberstam’s and his descendants. The area is fenced and well maintained. Opposite the cemetery there is a Hasidic centre with a mikveh and temple. The cemetery falls under the purview of the Kraków Kehilla. It is part of the county and voivodeship register of historical landmarks and the register of immovable monuments.
The first recorded mention of Jews in Nowy Sącz dates to the 16th century. Since the 19th century, the city was one of the most important Hasidic centres in the region. In 1921, Nowy Sącz had 9,009 Jewish residents (34% of the total population), most of whom were killed by German forces in 1942. Currently the city is a pilgrimage location for Hasidic Jews from all over the world.
There is an ohel of the Hasidic dynasty from Nowy Sącz (Sanc/Tanz) Chaim Halberstam (died 1876), son of Arie Lejbusz, founder of the dynasty, author of the work Divre Chaim, Meir Natan Halberstam (died 1855), son of Chaim Halberstam, Aron Halberstam (died 1903), son of Chaim Halberstam, after the death of his father, from Nowy Sącz, Szalom Halberstam (died 1931), son of Aron, grandson of Chaim Halberstam, rabbi in Piekło, dayan in Nowy Sącz, Mosze Halberstam (died 1918), son of Ezekiel Szraga from Sieniawa, grandson of Chaim Halberstam, born in Stropków, rabbi in Sieniawa, tzaddik in Nowy Sącz, Arie Lejbusz Halberstam (died 1930), son of Mosze from Sieniawa, great-grandson of Chaim Halberstam, rabbi in Sieniawa, Izaak Tobiasza Halberstam (died 1927), son of Meir, son-in-law of Chaim Halberstam, tzadik in Nowy Sącz, Arie Lejbusz Halberstam (died 1935), son of Aron, tzadik in Grybów, dajan in Nowy Sącz, Mordechaj Zew Halberstam (died 1942), son of Arie Lejbusz, rabbi in Grybów, tzadik in Nowy Sącz, Baruch Halberstam (died 1942), son of Mordechaj, a rabbi in Grybów. The key to the ohel is made available only to hasidim.
The cemetery is still open for burial purposes, but funerals are now sporadic. It is also a pilgrimage site for Sanz hassidim from all over the world. There are about 230 gravestones. Many of the tombstones are badly damaged.
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