Obj. ID: 49419
Jewish Funerary Art Site of the Cholera Jewish cemetery in Białystok, Poland
According to ESJF European Jewish Cemeteries Initiative, a cholera outbreak in Bialystok in 1831 and, because of its high mortality rate, there was a need to establish a Jewish cemetery for victims of the epidemic. The cemetery was located beyond the city limits, approximately 1 km southwest of the town square. After the epidemic declined, the cemetery was expanded and continued to be in use until 1892, at which point the next Jewish cemetery was founded in Bialystok. The cemetery was shaped as an irregular polygon with an acreage of approximately 1.7 hectares. During World War II, it was largely destroyed. In 1964, the local government announced its closure. The area was subsequently turned into a marketplace and buildings were erected in some parts of the land. In 2008, a part of the cemetery was renovated and a square with a memorial was built.
Currently, there is a ZUS building and a small park with a memorial plaque dedicated to the former Jewish cemetery, there is also a star of David shaped floral monument.