Jewish Cemetery in Trier, Jewish cemetery in Trier, Germany

The Jewish Cemetery in Trier lies in the Trier-Süd district, in the Straßenspitz between Gilbertstraße and Weidegasse. Its 3,481 square metres hold 446 preserved gravestones, the oldest from 1686 for Uri ben David Mordechai Hakohen. Until the mid-18th century, sandstone stones shared one form with Hebrew inscriptions; rabbis' graves were often ornamented.

The cemetery on Weidegasse was laid out around 1620, after Jews had again settled in Trier in larger numbers following their 15th-century expulsion; the plot outside the city gates covered 1,066 square metres. Enlarged to 1,620 square metres in the early 19th century and to 3,481 square metres after 1886, it was walled in 1827 and fully occupied by 1915. In 1920 the community decided to move burials to the main cemetery in the north of the city, and the Weidegasse cemetery was closed in 1922.

Until the mid-18th century, sandstone headstones were uniform in shape, with inscriptions in Hebrew; rabbis' graves were often decorated with ornaments. The oldest surviving stone, from 1686, marks the grave of Uri ben David Mordechai Hakohen. Because Jewish law holds the dead inviolable, graves are never cleared, so stones span the whole period of use, from the late 17th century to about 1920.

The cemetery lies in Trier-Süd, in the wedge between Gilbertstraße and Weidegasse, enclosed by a wall since 1827 and now surrounded by houses. Enter through the gate on Weidegasse; the ground rises through humus accumulation, so many stones sit low. A former central path holds graves from the First World War. In one corner, behind bushes, stands a Second World War air-raid shelter.

The oldest surviving headstone, from 1686, marks the grave of Uri ben David Mordechai Hakohen. A 1987 storm toppled trees that smashed several stones; during the rebuild the inscriptions of two graves were swapped and some stones were re-set upside down on their bases.