An independent Jewish community was founded in Mszana in 1870. It owned a synagogue and a cemetery. The necropolis had probably been founded sometime in the 18th century, long before the establishment of the community. It was located on a hill slope southwest of the town centre, by the road to Zakopane (today’s Zakopiańska Street). The cemetery was used until World War II. It was devastated during the German occupation and continued to dilapidate after 1945.

The Description

Today, the cemetery covers about 0.24 hectare. Its area was originally larger, but a road was built on its edge after World War II. About 30 matzevot have survived at the site. Some of the tombstones are adorned with well-preserved relief decorations in the form of vines and symbolic motifs typical for Jewish sepulchral art. Many inscriptions are still legible. However, it is impossible to make out the internal layout of the necropolis.

In 1989, the cemetery was entered into the register of monuments under the number A-606, dated 20 December 1989. The site was renovated in 1991 on the initiative of Leo Gatterer from Mszana Dolna. It was surrounded with a metal fence with a gate and a wicket.

Description copyright owner: POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews