Obj. ID: 48598
Jewish Funerary Art Jewish cemetery in Ratnyčia, Lithuania
According to ESJF European Jewish Cemeteries Initiative, the old Jewish cemetery in Ratnyčia is located at the outskirts of the village, close to the forest. The cemetery was established here at the end of the 18th century and was in use until the Second World War. In the 1970s the cemetery was demolished, and the bulk of the gravestones was used as building materials in Druskininkai and the surrounding area. In 2015 the cemetery was registered in the Cultural Property Register of the Republic of Lithuania and now it is protected by the state.
Currently 143 stone, granite and concrete headstones or their fragments have been found within the irregularly shaped area which is 0.4 hectares large and is marked by small rocks. Inside the cemetery there is a three-part monument consisting of grey stone slabs concreted side by side. The central slab has a dedication in Lithuanian, on the surface of the right-side slab there is a menorah and inscription in Hebrew, the left-side slab with the Star of David engraved is in Yiddish.
The cemetery is located behind No.14 Dainavos street, which is the last house on the street. From this house turn right and drive for about 70 meters, the cemetery is in the wood on the left of the road.