Obj. ID: 49692
Jewish Funerary Art Site of the Old Jewish cemetery in Międzyrzec Podlaski, Poland
According to ESJF European Jewish Cemeteries Initiative, the earliest reference to the old cemetery dates to 1605, but it was most likely established in the first half of the 16th century. It functioned until 1810 when a new cemetery was established. It was located approximately 400 metres to the north-east of the market square, by the road towards Brześć (currently, it is located at the intersection of Brzeska and Zarówie Streets). There are no further details regarding the spatial development and internal organization of the cemetery. It was fenced with a brick wall. There were two brick buildings (of unknown function) on the cemetery grounds. The area was covered with old trees. The cemetery was destroyed at the end of 1939. Germans established a selection site for forced labour on the site. Shortly after the war, clay and sand were mined in the area.
In 1946, the authorities built over the area of the cemetery. It has been gradually developed with single-family houses and service facilities. Currently, there are no traces of the cemetery. In 1946, 30 tombstones from the old cemetery were found among the tombstones recovered from the city and the surrounding area. Most of them were embedded in the south-west part of the wall fencing the new cemetery. The inscribed tombstones found are dated from 1709-1809 and are made of granite erratic boulders.
Today, the cemetery area is overbuilt - there is a supermarket, an ambulance station and private houses on the cemetery territory. No traces of the cemetery have survived.