The Jewish Cemetery - In the 19th century, during the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Ashkenazi Jews settled in this area, bringing with them Western European culture and the Yiddish language. Since 1890, the cemetery has been owned by the Jewish community in Mostar, and in the same year a fence was erected around the cemetery. At the entrance there are two stone pillars between which there is a double metal door. On the pillars on the inside are stone slabs with an inscription from 1936. In this area, a special form of tombstone was created, reminiscent in appearance of medieval stećak tombstones.
There are no decorations on the tombstones except for the executed borders on which the text is located. In addition to the names of the deceased, the monuments contain the date of birth and death, as well as a short text about the life and work of the deceased, as well as verses and quotations from the Jewish tradition. In older monuments the letters are convex while in younger ones they are carved. The oldest tombstone found is from 1892. Before the Second World War, there was a Jewish community with about 310 members and over a thousand Jews. All Mostar Jews were deported on November 17, 1942 to the Dalmatian islands. Most of the younger prisoners went to the partisans, and those who remained were deported to concentration camps in Germany.
In 1996, with the financial help of the European Union, the Jewish cemetery in Mostar was renovated and arranged, and after that, a monument to the victims of the Holocaust was made inside the cemetery.
Author of the aricle
Amila Hasečić - contact: [email protected]
