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JEWISH HERITAGE IN ZAKOPANE: HISTORY AND PRESENT

Zakopane, a popular Polish town in the Tatra Mountains, was co-created not only by highlanders and locals but also by Jews who settled here from the end of the 19th century. They ran their own shops, restaurants, and even organized the world’s first Jewish Winter Olympics, the Makabiada. Although much of their presence was erased during World War II, several sites still remind us of their significant contribution to the town’s development. Exploring the historical Jewish sites in Zakopane offers a unique insight into this rich heritage.

Key Sites:

  • Jewish Cemetery on Bachledzki Wierch: Located at an altitude of 900 meters, this is the highest Jewish cemetery in Poland. Despite being destroyed during the war, it has been restored and serves as an important memorial. Only a few concrete and stone gravestones marking the graves have survived to this day. In the free Poland, it was thanks to the initiative of the then US ambassador to Slovakia – Ronald Weiser, whose family emigrated to America at the beginning of the 20th century, that the cemetery area was cleaned up and a monument commemorating the deceased Jews of Zakopane was erected.
  • Synagogues and Mikvah: In the interwar period, Zakopane had two synagogues and a mikvah, which were central to the Jewish community’s religious life.

The Jewish Cemetery on Bachledzki Wierch features a memorial stylized as a matzevah with an inscription:

Quote

"Only fragments of memory remain. In memory of the Jews buried here, residents of Zakopane. Of the 3,000 Jewish community members of Zakopane, only a few survived the Holocaust. The Jewish cemetery in Zakopane, established in 1931, was completely destroyed by the German occupiers in 1942. Restored through the efforts of Ambassador Ronald Weiser and Ellen Weiser and the Jewish Heritage Protection Foundation. Zakopane, October 13, 2014."

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Nearby Historical Site:

Jewish Cemetery in Czarny Dunajec

Jewish Cemetery in Czarny Dunajec: The Jewish cemetery in Czarny Dunajec was established in the second half of the 19th century. It is located on the road out of Czarny Dunajec towards Rabka. The cemetery was almost completely ruined during World War II and further desecrated after the war. Most of the gravestones were stolen. In 2020, the cemetery was restored thanks to the Popiel family foundation „Centrum,” which carried out the „People, Not Numbers” project.

The cemetery was fenced, and a broken matzevah was erected in its central part to commemorate victims from 15 towns. The monument bears the inscription: „In memory of the victims of the Holocaust from Czarny Dunajec, Chochołów, Ciche, Czerwienne, Dzianisz, Miętustwo, Odrowąż, Pieniążkowice, Podczerwone, Podszkle, Ratułów, Stare Bystre, Witów, Wróblówka, Załuczne and the murdered prisoners of the labor camp in Czarny Dunajec.”

The cemetery also features six educational and informational boards providing basic information about the fate of the Jewish community. In the northern part, a funeral house probably stood, where ritual washing and prayers were performed before burial. The western part of the cemetery is older, and several dozen gravestones in four rows of graves have been discovered there. The eastern part, added later, contains mass graves from 1942.

The restoration project included creating a memorial, listing the names of Jewish residents of Czarny Dunajec and surrounding areas, and preserving the mass graves. Several gravestones recovered from the surrounding area were restored and placed in the cemetery.

By including these historical sites in your visit, you can gain a deeper understanding of the rich Jewish heritage that once thrived in Zakopane and its surrounding areas.

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