Obj. ID: 44168
Jewish Funerary Art Old Jewish Cemetery in Zarasai, Lithuania
According to ESJF European Jewish Cemeteries Initiative, the old cemetery was established in 1870 and was in use until the 1930’s. There are about 1000 tombstones and their fragments, including a dozen of ohels (tabernacles). They are in good condition with little vandalism, some of them are decorated with traditional Judaism symbols: candles, grapes, images of lions, doves, hands outstretched for a blessing. However there are also the gravestones that are completely overgrown in the woods. The cemetery was abandoned after World War II and it was only in 1993, that it was registered into the Cultural Property Register of the Republic of Lithuania. Inside the cemetery, a monument was erected with the following inscription in Hebrew and Lithuanian – “The Old Jewish Cemetery. May their memory remain sacred”. There is a metal fence with gates on masonry pillars, 1m high, only on the front side. The rest of the territory is unfenced, but surrounded by water (lake Zarasas).
