Redaktor:Katarína Matejková/pieskovisko

Jewish Cemetery In Banská Štiavnica

Location:

The Jewish cemetery is located in the close vicinity of the New Castle in Banská Štiavnica (in the past the area was called Frauenberg).

Adress: Katová 167/6, 969 01, Banská Štiavnica

District: Banská Štiavnica

Region: Banskobystrický

Country: Slovakia

Area: 65x65 m, 4225 m²

Jewish cemetery in Banská Štiavnica

Period of establishing: 19th century

Condition: ongoing reconstruction

Open to the public: accessible by reservation

Contact: PaedDr. Beata Rückschloss Nemcová (responsible for the reconstruction and management of the cemetery, providing tourist accompaniment and interpretation of the history of the Jewish religious community and the Jewish cemetery in Banská Štiavnica)

E-mail: beata.nemcova@gmail.com

Tel.: +421 905 752 871

Description and Architecture:

The Jewish cemetery is protected by a stone wall, the dimensions of the cemetery are 65x65 m. The cemetery is located on a slope, graves are located from north to south. Men and women are buried together in the graves.   

There is a ceremonial building, a funeral house (Ciduk hadin) with a dome, which is built in oriental Maori style at the entrance to the cemetery.

In the cemetery there are various tombstones with different language inscriptions (Hebrew, Hungarian, German, Slovak). They are mainly made of marble and have different shapes.

Burial in the cemetery began at the end of the 19th century. In 1892, a burial society (Chevra Kaddisha) was founded to provide burials and engage in charitable activities. Its president was Mark Welward.

There are 268 preserved graves in the cemetery, and we can identify inscriptions on 224 of them, although only partial inscriptions on some of them. Many graves have been destroyed by vandals, who have demolished, destroyed or stolen the monuments and used the gravestones, for example, in the construction of a walkway or a family fireplace.

Some Jews were buried in the Catholic and also the Evangelical cemetery. According to the inscriptions found on the tombstones, burials in the Jewish cemetery ceased around 1972.

Buried Personalities:

Many important families and personalities of the Jewish religious community in Banská Štiavnica are buried in the cemetery. Among the oldest graves are Cecilia Schäffer (from 1893), Heinrich Rosenzweig (1895), Hermann Ekstein (1896).

The cemetery also contains memorial graves for those who died in concentration camps in 1942-1944: members of the Mester, Drexler, Stern, Winterstein, Schlessinger, Singer, Schwarz, Gemeiner, Weiss, Baroka, Chrakovska, Ilofska families.

Activities and Renovation:

The Jewish cemetery faces a double ownership - the land belongs to the town of Banská Štiavnica, which simply reassigned the land to itself in the times of socialism, but every grave and the building of the house of mourning belongs to the Union of Jewish Communities.

Thanks to the volunteer initiative, the Jewish cemetery was repaired and is regularly maintained, managed by PaedDr. Beata Rückschloss Nemcova and made accessible to visitors and those interested in the history of the Jewish religious community in Banská Štiavnica.

In 2007, there was an extensive reconstruction of the cemetery, during which all 268 graves were removed from the cemetery and the cemetery premises, all 268 graves were cleaned and 165 graves were partially or completely reconstructed.

At the same time, the dome of the Ciduk Hadin funeral house was reconstructed, the internal plasterwork of the building, gates and windows were also being reconstructed. In the interior of the house of mourning, information boards about the history of the Jewish religious community and the Jewish cemetery in Banská Štiavnica were installed.

The reconstruction of the Jewish cemetery is still in progress and depends on financial funding.

History of Jewish Religious Community in Banská Štiavnica:

Banská Štiavnica was in the past the most important mining town in the former Hungary.

Jews were first mentioned in Banská Štiavnica in the second half of the 14th century. Later, however, after the issuance of Maximilian's mining regulations (1570), Jews were not allowed to settle in any mining town within a radius of 7 road miles from its statutory boundaries, for the reason that they could not engage in the trade of mined precious metals.

It was only after the easing of the political situation and the adoption of Law XVII of 1867 that the mining towns also gave up their statutory rights and allowed Jews to settle on their territory.

The first Jewish families reportedly arrived in Banská Štiavnica in the 1860s. At that time there were 93 Jews living in Banská Štiavnica. The Banská Štiavnica Jewish religious community was of the Neolog direction.

In 1890-1893, a synagogue was built, a school was founded, and a funeral society (Chevra Kaddisha) was established. Several societies were active here: the Women's Benevolent Society, Hashomer Hatzair (Young Guardian), Macabi Hatzair (Young Maccabee), the Macabi Physical Education Society (Maccabee).

At the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century, Jews played a very important role in the economic life of the town, contributing to its economic development and increasing employment. Koloman Ungar founded a wood products factory, Adolf Weisz a linen factory, Alexander Erdös a shoe factory, Eugen Timföld a knitwear factory. Many Jews worked as merchants, industrial entrepreneurs, craftsmen, attorneys, doctors, pharmacists, engineers, clerks, and private businessmen.

Before World War I, 550 Jews lived in Banská Štiavnica, which represents the highest number of Jewish population in the town. However, the majority of the Jewish population perished during the Holocaust.  In 1948, 63 Jews lived in Banská Štiavnica, but later most of them emigrated to Israel and other countries. Today, there is no longer an active Jewish religious community in the town.

Bibliography:

LICHNER, Marián et al. Banská Štiavnica: svedectvo času. Banská Bystrica: Štúdio Harmony, 2002, 256 s. ISBN 80-968547-8-X.

NEMCOVÁ. Beata. História Židovskej náboženskej obce v Banskej Štiavnici. Zvolen: Klemo, 2011, 190 s. ISBN 978-80-89304-12-7.

RÜCKSCHLOSS NEMCOVÁ, Beata. Židovská Štiavnica. Bratislava: Marenčin PT, 2023, 244 s. ISBN 978-80-569-1122-8.

External Links:

https://www.virtualna-banska-stiavnica.sk/virtualna-stiavnica/zidovsky-cintorin

https://www.slovak-jewish-heritage.org

https://zidianaslovensku.sk/zidovsky-cintorin-v-banskej-stiavnici/

https://www.pamiatkynaslovensku.sk/banska-stiavnica-zidovsky-cintorin

Other Projects:

Commons offers multimedia files on https://zidovskycintorinstiavnica.sk