The New Jewish Cemetery in Krakow — three centuries of memory

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The New Jewish Cemetery in Krakow was founded in 1800 by decision of the Krakow Jewish community, when the historic cemetery beside the Remuh Synagogue — in use since 1535 — could no longer accommodate the growing community. The kehilla acquired land on what was then ul. Miodowa, at the edge of Kazimierz and today in the very heart of the district. The first burial took place in 1800; successive generations of rabbis, Talmudic scholars, merchants, physicians, lawyers and public figures were laid to rest here over the following two centuries.

In the interwar years the cemetery served a Krakow Jewish community numbering over sixty thousand. Notable family tombs, rabbinic ohels and monuments to public figures were erected here — among them the grave of Rabbi Ozjasz Thon, one of the foremost Polish rabbis and a deputy in the Sejm of the Republic of Poland, and of Józef Sare, long-serving Vice-President of Krakow.

During the German occupation the cemetery was devastated. The Germans removed hundreds of matzevot, using them as building material — among other purposes, paving roads and roll-call squares at the KL Plaszow camp established a few kilometres away. Many family tombs were broken open, and the cemetery grounds themselves were used as a rubble dump. After the war, the surviving Krakow Jews together with the community began the work of recovering matzevot and reconstituting the cemetery. Hundreds of preserved gravestones were located in the 1950s and 1960s on the site of the former Plaszow camp and elsewhere in the city; they were assembled into a memorial wall along the cemetery boundary, today one of its most recognisable features.

The cemetery still fulfils its original purpose — deceased members of the Krakow Jewish community and those connected to the city continue to be buried here. It is administered by the Jewish Religious Community of Krakow, which keeps burial registers, coordinates the conservation of ohels and cares for the historic tombs. Cooperation with heritage foundations, among them the Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage in Poland and international partners, allows the gradual restoration of the more important matzevot.

For many families of Krakow descent, the New Jewish Cemetery remains the only physical place at which they may honour their forebears — most Krakow Jews murdered during the Shoah lie at Belzec, at Birkenau, or in mass graves at the Plaszow camp. The cenotaphs at the Miodowa cemetery, raised by surviving relatives in the post-war years, are often the only inscribed memorial to whole murdered families.

A visit to the cemetery observes the customs that apply at any active Jewish cemetery. Men and boys from the age of thirteen (bar mitzvah) are required to cover their heads — kippot are available at the gate. Women in Jewish tradition are generally not obliged to cover their heads, although married women in Orthodox circles wear a head scarf.

The cemetery is closed on Saturdays (Shabbat), from sunset Friday until sunset Saturday, and on Jewish holidays (Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Pesach, Shavuot). When planning a visit we always consult the Jewish calendar. Standard opening hours are Sunday to Friday, from 09:00 until dusk.

By tradition visitors place small stones on graves, not flowers. Stones symbolise the permanence of memory — unlike flowers, which wither. They may be gathered on the cemetery grounds or brought with you. The custom recalls biblical burials in the desert, where stones protected graves from animals.

Men of priestly descent (kohanim) traditionally do not enter the cemetery, except for the burial of immediate family members — a restriction derived from the biblical prohibition on contact with the dead (Leviticus 21:1). If a guest is a kohen we plan the visit from the street or from the gateway.

Photography is permitted with respect for the gravity of the place. We ask for restraint when a burial is in progress and that visitors do not step onto matzevot themselves. Visitors may recite Kaddish at the grave of a relative — the community office will help locate the exact burial position from the registers.

Zasady wizyty:

• • Nakrycie głowy: wymagane (mężczyźni, chłopcy 13+)
• • Otwarcie: Sunday–Friday daylight (typically 09:00–16:00 winter, 09:00–18:00 summer); closed Saturday (Shabbat) and Jewish holidays
• • Tradycja kładzenia kamyków: tak — symbol pamięci
• • Fotografia: dozwolona z szacunkiem

For families seeking the graves of Krakow forebears, the first step is to contact the office of the Jewish Religious Community of Krakow, which keeps burial registers from the nineteenth century onwards. Part of the records have been digitised and are accessible through the JewishGen database and the International Institute for Jewish Genealogy (IIJG).

Useful supplementary sources include the National Archive in Krakow (Jewish community vital records 1798–1942), the State Archive in Krakow Bochnia branch (real estate hypothecation files) and the Yad Vashem database for victims of the Shoah. The JCC Krakow Jewish Community Centre at ul. Miodowa 24 offers free genealogical consultations for descendants of Krakow Jews.

VIP Transfers helps arrange a meeting with the community genealogist or with JCC Krakow before your planned visit to the cemetery, so that you arrive already with a known burial location and the family context in hand.

The New Jewish Cemetery lies at ul. Miodowa 55, roughly one kilometre from the principal Kazimierz hotels and about two kilometres from the Old Town. The Mercedes V-Class draws up directly at the cemetery gate — parking is available on ul. Miodowa itself. From most Kazimierz hotels (Hotel Stary, Hotel Kossak, Hotel Eden, PURO Krakow Kazimierz) the drive takes five to ten minutes.

We recommend a morning visit — the light is gentler, footfall lower, and the summer temperature more bearable. A standard visit lasts approximately two hours, including time to walk along the memorial wall of recovered matzevot and, where required, to locate a specific grave deeper within the cemetery. The driver remains at the vehicle or at a discreet distance — a visit to a Jewish cemetery is a private act.

For guests combining the visit with prayer at the Remuh Synagogue (ten minutes on foot in the direction of ul. Szeroka) or with the old Remuh cemetery itself, we plan a Kazimierz afternoon with a single vehicle and discreet logistical support. Hotel pickup and return are included.