Objects

Photo showing a Renaissance-era tombstone (matzevah) in the now defunct Old Jewish Cemetery at Rakoczego Street.

The Old Jewish Cemetery in Przemyśl was founded in the mid-16th century. It was located outside of the city walls, in the Podgórze suburb (today’s Rakoczy Street). It ceased to exist during the Nazi occupation. The Germans vandalised and destroyed the Old Cemetery, using the matzevot as construction material in repairs of local roads and bridges. The tombstones have been preserved only in archival photos forming part of the collection of the National Museum of Przemyśl. After the war, residential buildings were erected on a portion of the old cemetery premises, while the rest of the plot was converted into allotments. The only surviving trace of the cemetery is the entrance gate.

The photo was donated to the National Museum of Przemyśl by the Board of the Jewish Religious Community in Przemyśl on 2 October 1928.