Cmentarz żydowski

Come on ... I didn't know

One of the two Jewish cemeteries operating in Rypin was probably opened in the 18th century (or even earlier). Its location on the hill behind Rypienica near the so-called Old Power Station at ul. Orzeszkowa was dictated by the order to organize Jewish cemeteries outside the city. This was the case here, because the foundation was outside the walls of Rypin at that time, and the administrative border was the river. In the post-war years (1945+), the name 'herches' was used in the social circulation, referring to this place. It is a polonized name derived from the word kirkut (German Kirchhof) which means a cemetery. Today, there is the City Park in this place, and at the top of the former cemetery we can admire the monument to the 900th anniversary of Rypin. The fate of numerous, probably lost matzevot and tombstones is unknown. The necropolis completely lost readability and all elements of cemetery architecture, first of all gravestones, plaques and gravestones. Until the year 2000, at the foot of the hill there was a wooden house called scary, which previously occupied a Jew dealing in the maintenance of the cemetery. The jargon name came from the family of Aleksander (Olek) Straszyński, post-war tenants of the building. Both the appearance of the area and its function have been radically changed in accordance with the applicable law and the needs of the city. Nevertheless, we have to do with the area of ​​burials, which are inviolable for Jews. The main difference between the Christian and Jewish cemetery is the different treatment of the grave. In the Christian tradition it is acceptable to violate it and make a new burial after a certain time, and a cemetery that has not been used for a long time can be liquidated. In turn, the rules of Judaism indicate that the entire cemetery and every tombstone are inviolable as long as its location is known. Exceptions include exhumations to transfer the remains to the grave in the Holy Land or the family grave. The principle also applies to the transfer from a non-Jewish cemetery, if the burial is threatened by profanation or washing by water.