Jewish cemetery in Lodz

Lodz,Jewish cemetery in LodzPoland
Jewish cemetery in Lodz
Bracka 40, 91-717, Lodz, Poland
The Jewish Cemetery of Lodz, established in 1892, was the largest Jewish necropolis in Europe at the time. The decision to create a new cemetery was made after residents of surrounding neighborhoods refused to allow the expansion of the old cemetery on Wesoła Street.

Industrialist and factory owner, Izrael Poznański, donated the first 10.5 hectares of land for the establishment of the cemetery. The outbreak of a cholera epidemic in 1892 forced the Tsarist authorities to accept the construction. The first people buried there were approximately 700 cholera victims.

History

In 1896, Mina Dobrzyńska Konsztat funded the construction of the Beit Tahara (Funeral Home) which was completed in 1898. In 1900, Albert Cukier purchased additional land and greatly expanded the necropolis. Several houses for cemetery workers and a wooden synagogue were also built. During World War I, the cemetery suffered severe destruction and many tombstones were badly damaged. It was renovated with the financial support of the city's industrialists. By 1925, the original wooden fence surrounding the cemetery was replaced with a red brick wall that still stands today. All tombstones in the cemetery face east and in the 19th century, the majority of them were painted in different colors.