Warszawa

I first visited the Okopowa Street cemetery in Warszawa for a few days in October, 2006. It was, and is, absolutely amazing. Without doubt sections of this cemetery are among the most desolate and abandoned places that I have seen anywhere in Poland.

One could spend many days in the cemetery.  It is, of course, huge and contains many fascinating stones.  The stones are substantially more “modern” and secular in appearance than is the case in smaller, more remote places and the same is true for the overall impression conveyed by the cemetery.  While the cemetery is still in use by the Jewish community of Warszawa and receives care and attention, it is simply so large that some areas are among the wildest that I have encountered anywhere and do not appear to have had visitors for literally decades, notwithstanding the cemetery’s location in the heart of bustling Warsaw, its status as a regular stop for tour groups, and its juxtaposition to the McDonalds just down the street.

In 2007 I passed through Warszawa briefly but the cemetery was closed for the Sabbath.  In 2010, my wife and I spent a gray afternoon visiting there once again.