Cemetery

Bila Tserkva New Cemetery

The oldest Jewish cemetery in Bila Tserkva was founded at the end of the 16th century along Rokitnyanskaya Street (now Sholem Aleichem Street). Following the death of Bohdan Khmelnytsky in 1657, Jewish life in the Right Bank region of Ukraine became precarious. Civil unrest caused the Jewish population of Bila Tserkva to leave until the early 18th century. When they returned, they continued to use the Old Cemetery, but gradual construction meant the cemetery could no longer be expanded. Between 1873 and 1898, the Jewish community underwent the process of closing the Old Cemetery and purchasing land for a new one. The Old Cemetery was partially destroyed in the 1920s during the construction of a Komsomol stadium. In 1943, the German Army ordered the destruction of the Old Cemetery, forcing the Jews of Bila Tserkva to dismantle matsevahs. Following the Second World War, the Soviet government used these matsevahs for building material. The Old Cemetery property now serves as a memorial complex, including an ohel and fragments of old matsevahs.

The New Cemetery was built along Kyivska Street and opened in 1898. Its most recent burial was in 2016. The Jewish community regularly maintains the New Cemetery, particularly around Rosh Hashanah. Many matsevahs have been digitized and are available online.

The New Cemetery, located on Kyivska Street