Old Jewish Cemetery, Sarajevo

The OId Jewish Cemetery is a cemetery in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is located on the slopes of Trebević mountain, in the Kovačići-Debelo Brdo area, in the south-western part of the city. It is the largest Jewish cemetery in Southeast Europe. It was in use for approximately four hundred years from the beginning of the 16th or 17th century until 1966.

History

Established by Sephardic Jews during the Ottoman period, it also became the burial ground for Ashkenazi Jews after they arrived in Sarajevo with the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the late 19th century. It contains more than 3850 tombstones and covers an area of 31160 square meters. It has four monuments dedicated to the victims of fascism: a Sephardi one designed by Jahiel Finci and erected in 1952, two Ashkenazi ones, and one dedicated to the victims of Ustasha militants.

During war of the 1990s

The Jewish Cemetery was on the front line during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and was used as an artillery position by Bosnian Serbs. It was thus severely damaged by bullets and fire caused by explosions. It was also heavily mined but was completely cleared in 1996.

Notable burials and memorials

Notable people buried in the cemetery include Rabbi Samuel Baruh (first rabbi of Sarajevo from 1630 to 1650; his grave is believed to be the oldest in the cemetery), Rabbi Isak Pardo (rabbi from 1781 to 1810), Rabbi Avraham Abinun (Grand Rabbi from 1856 to 1858), Moshe ben Rafael Attias (1845 – 1916), Laura Levi Papo LaBohoreta (writer of the early 20th century), and Isak Samokovlija.
There are also four memorials erected to the victims of Fascist terror, along with several cenotaphs, an empty memorial tombs, with the names of people who died elsewhere and whose grave locations are unknown.

Genizah

Separate vault or "grave" for damaged books known as a Genizah, is located in the southeastern part of the cemetery, with the first burial taking place on 3 July 1916. Assumption is that some 14 chests of holy books were buried in the second burial ceremony, so currently exhumation of Geniza is under way to determine its content.

National and World Heritage designation

The cemetery is designated as a national monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina under the name "Sepulchral ensemble – Jewish cemetery in Sarajevo". In preparation for nomination for inclusion on the World Heritage Site list, Bosnian delegates submitted documentation for the tentative list at UNESCO on April 3, 2018, under the "Cultural" category and criteria "(ii)", "(iii)", "(iv)", "(vi)".

Gallery

File:Sarajevo Jevrejsko groblje 17.jpg, The main gate with a fountain
File:Jewish Cemetery 01 (22768580921).jpg, Inscription over the main gate
File:Lovely synagogue passed while speeding up into the hills (6086211529).jpg, Temple (Ciduk Adin) near main entrance with an old wall
File:Sarajevo Jevrejsko groblje 16.jpg, Old wall from the main gate western edge
File:Sarajevo Jevrejsko groblje 3.jpg, View on city
File:Pogled na Sarajevo sa jevrejskog.jpg, Cityscape from the top of the cemetery
File:Sarajevo kirkut old.JPG, Cemetery
File:Jewish Cemetery 05 (22768647581).jpg, Inscriptions on the tombstones
File:Sarajevo Jevrejsko groblje 13.jpg, Winter ambient
File:Graveyard sarajevo.JPG, Traces of mortar shells and bullet holes

File:The Turk and his lost provinces - Greece, Bulgaria, Servia, Bosnia (1903) (14777503024).jpg, Cemetery second half of the 19th century, beginning of the Austro-Hunagrian period
File:Sarajevo Jevrejsko groblje 1.jpg, Upper gate, highest point at the southern edge

See also

* History of the Jews in Bosnia and Herzegovina
* Moshe ben Rafael Attias
* Isak Samokovlija

References

Cemeteries in Sarajevo
Buildings and structures in Sarajevo
Jewish cemeteries
National Monuments of Bosnia and Herzegovina
World Heritage Tentative List for Bosnia and Herzegovina
Judaism in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Sephardi Jewish culture in Bosnia and Herzegovina