"New Jewish Cemetery" The Jewish Quarter - Kazimierz Tip by Kathrin_E

The new Jewish Cemetery was opened around 1800 and has since then been the burial place of the Jewish communities in the city. It is called Krakow's saddest cemetery because no one ever visits the graves, the relatives of those who buried here all either died in the holocaust or escaped. However, this cannot entirely be true because there are also newer graves from post-war times.
The graveyard is full, graves almost piled on top of each other. Some inscriptions are in Hebrew, others in Polish, others in German.
The place has a strange atmosphere. I was walking all alone. Big grapevine snails were the only living creatures I saw. Jews do not keep the graves of their loved ones clean and decorate them with flowers, the tombs are just left as they are. The graves are overgrown with weeds and trees. The air is humid, it feels more like a jungle than a place in the centre of a city. It was almost scary. Even though those buried here are the lucky ones who died before the Nazi occupation and the shoah. Many tombstones have additional inscriptions, though, that commemorate family members who were victims of the holocaust. A holocaust memorial, built from fragments of destroyed tombstomes, has been set up next to the entrance and the burial hall.

The New Jewish Cemetery is located east of Kazimierz beyond the railway line. To get there, follow ul. Miodowa across ul. Starowislna (the main street where the tram runs) and further on through the tunnel under the railway. The street looks like it leads nowhere anyone would want to go - but no worries, this is the right way. The entrance to the cemetery is just behind the short tunnel.

The cemetery is open form 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. in summer, 4 p.m. in winter. Men are requested to cover their heads.