Description of the attraction
Staro-Ulanovichskoe cemetery is the oldest Jewish cemetery in Vitebsk. The history of the first Jewish cemetery in Vitebsk began with the decree of King Vladislav IV, which allowed the Jewish community of Vitebsk to redeem the land for burial in 1633. The successor to the state power, Jan III Sobieski, confirmed the right of Jews to cemetery land shortly after coming to power at the beginning of his reign in 1673.
However, a large number of Jews lived in Vitebsk. Soon the cemetery was overflowing and there was nowhere to bury the new dead. The community appealed to the city council with a request to allow it to buy out a new plot of land, however, the city authorities, constrained by the prohibitive laws of the Russian Empire regarding the property of Jews, could not unequivocally resolve this issue. The case was referred to the Senate, where it was decided for several years. The new cemetery was allowed to be redeemed only in 1909.
During the Second World War, German Nazis carried out mass executions on the territory of the Staro-Ulanovichsky cemetery, and Jewish gravestones were barbarously destroyed. Therefore, no one knows how many graves actually are in the cemetery.
Today the Staro-Ulanovichskoe cemetery is the only Jewish cemetery in Vitebsk. All the rest, more ancient graves, were demolished by the Soviet authorities. In 1990, this Jewish cemetery was also closed by the decision of the Vitebsk City Executive Committee. With donations from former compatriots, the territory of the cemetery was slightly refined and a new fence was built.
