Obj. ID: 8585
Funerary Art New Jewish Cemetery in Shumen, Bulgaria
The report "Jewish Historic Monuments and Sites in Bulgaria" published by The United States Commission for the Preservation of America's Heritage Abroad in 2011 states the following:
The original cemetery in Shumen was founded at the end of the 16th century. A new cemetery was established in 1872 because of an outbreak of cholera. The last known Jewish burial at this site was in 1964. The cemetery is owned by the local Jewish community and it is marked by a Magen David (a six-pointed “Jewish” star) on the gate. Access can be obtained with permission. The site is 0.46 hectares in size and it contains about 650 headstones. These include vertical headstones in a variety of shapes, as well as horizontal slabs and the higher horizontal “breadloaf” type of gravestone that resembles a sarcophagus with a rounded top. Many of the vertical headstones are decorated with enameled portraits of the deceased and simple decorative devices – especially the Magen David. Inscriptions are in Hebrew and Bulgarian. Only a part of the old fence with a gate that locks still survives. There are signs of commercial or industrial encroachment in places not surrounded by the fence. Though vegetation is a constant problem, the Jewish community clears the cemetery seasonally. There is a commemorative monument to 356 individuals whose remains were moved to this site in 1935. There is also a pre-burial house at the site.
