The Jewish Cemetery ( mt, Iċ-Ċimiterju tal-Lhud, it, Cimitero degli Israeliti) is a

cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...

in Marsa,

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

. It was established in December 1879, and it was built to designs of the English architect

Webster Paulson Webster Paulson (11 December 1837 – 16 August 1887) was an English civil engineer who is known for his work in Crown Colony of Malta, Malta in the late 19th century. Life and career Born in Lincolnshire, he attended the Grammar School in G ...

History

The Jewish Cemetery is located in the ''Ta' Sammat'' area of Marsa, directly adjacent to

Emanuele Luigi Galizia Emanuele Luigi Galizia (7 November 1830 – 6 May 1907) was a Maltese architect and civil engineer, who designed many public buildings and several churches. He is regarded as "the principal Maltese architect throughout the second half of the ni ...

Turkish Military Cemetery The Turkish Military Cemetery ( mt, Iċ-Ċimiterju tat-Torok; tr, Türk Şehitliği), also known as the Ottoman Military Cemetery ( tr, Osmanlı Şehitliği), is a cemetery in Marsa, Malta. Commissioned by the Ottoman sultan Abdülaziz to repl ...

. It was established in December 1879 and it was designed by the English architect

. The British disallowed the building of a Synagogue to please the local Roman Catholic church, even if Jewish presence in Malta was of large numbers. The proximity of the Jewish and Turkish cemeteries led Lieutenant-Governor Sir

Harry Luke Sir Harry Charles Luke (born Harry Charles Lukach; 4 December 1884 – 11 May 1969) was an official in the British Colonial Office. He served in Barbados, Cyprus, Transcaucasia, Sierra Leone, Mandatory Palestine, Palestine, Malta, the Britis ...

to state that the area "is the only place in the world where Arabs and Jews lie peacefully together", albeit Turks are not actually Arabs – he may have interchangeably used it to mean Muslims. The

Commonwealth War Graves Commission The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of Commonwealth of Nations mil ...

cares for six graves inside the cemetery: three Commonwealth military burials (one from

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and two from

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

), one non-war burial and two war graves from other nationalities. The cemetery is still in use, but it is often kept locked. The cemetery contains the graves of people from

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

and other European countries.

Architecture

The Jewish Cemetery is built in a

neoclassical style Neoclassical architecture is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassicism, Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy and France. It became one of the most prominent architectural styles in the Western world. The pr ...

– one significant architectural feature is its main gate, which has decorations which are similar to

Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the s ...

finial A finial (from '' la, finis'', end) or hip-knob is an element marking the top or end of some object, often formed to be a decorative feature. In architecture, it is a small decorative device, employed to emphasize the Apex (geometry), apex of a d ...

s. Below the pediment, there is an Italian-language inscription indicating that the government granted the cemetery to the Jewish community in a public act on 8 December 1879.

References

External links

{{commons category inline, Jewish Cemetery, Marsa Marsa, Malta Cemeteries in Malta Jewish cemeteries Jews and Judaism in Malta Neoclassical architecture in Malta Limestone buildings in Malta Buildings and structures completed in 1879 1879 establishments in Malta