Joodse begraafplaatsen van Middelburg, Jewish burial grounds at Jodengang and Walensingel, Middelburg, Netherlands
The Jewish cemeteries in Middelburg consist of two separate burial grounds, one containing 93 gravestones and the other holding 349 stone markers. Each cemetery preserves the distinct history and identity of the communities that settled in different locations.
The Sephardic cemetery was founded in 1655 to serve Spanish and Portuguese Jews fleeing persecution. The Ashkenazi cemetery followed in 1704, serving a different population with its own traditions.
The Sephardic cemetery displays horizontal gravestones with Spanish inscriptions arranged in careful rows by the community. This layout contrasts sharply with the standing monuments in the Ashkenazi section, where Hebrew text takes prominence.
Both cemeteries remain accessible to visitors and offer quiet spaces for exploration and reflection. The Sephardic area was renovated in 1998 and received new fencing designed by artist Appie Drielsma.
Middelburg contains one of only two exclusively Sephardic Jewish cemeteries in the Netherlands. The other sits in Ouderkerk aan de Amstel, making both locations exceptionally rare and valuable for understanding Jewish history.
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