Jewish cemetery

Today, the Jewish cemetery in Bieruń, next to the building of the former synagogue, is the most valuable material and legible evidence of Jewish presence in the town and its surroundings.

The cemetery, in accordance with the laws of Judaism, was located on the outskirts of Bieruń Stary, far from human settlements, southwest of its centre. It is the youngest of the three Jewish necropolises in the Pszczyna region. It was established after 1814 and it was influenced by a royal rescript issued by Friedrich Wilhelm III on 24 May 1814, which forbade - under the threat of expulsion from the current place of residence - transportation of corpses over a distance longer than one mile. Until then, the Jews from Bieruń and the surrounding villages used the cemetery in Mikołów.

Over 600 people were buried here (almost 300 adults and over 320 children). The oldest preserved tombstone commemorates Esther Weiss from Lędziny, who died on 18 February 1824. The last buried person was Hermann Tichauer from Bojszowy, who died on 25 December 1944. There has never been a gravestone on his grave.

The cemetery in Bieruń is characterized by a variety of sepulchral art, from traditional sandstone forms in the old part to modern stone forms made of marble and granite in the front sections. Some tombstones bear interesting symbolic motifs, both typically Jewish and borrowed from the local environment.