Okopowa Street Jewish Cemetery, Jewish cemetery at Okopowa Street, Warsaw, Poland
The Jewish cemetery at Okopowa Street is a sprawling area filled with weathered gravestones rising among tall trees and thick greenery. The site feels like an overgrown forest, with narrow paths winding between thousands of monuments ranging from plain slabs to ornately carved columns and shrines.
The site was opened in 1806 beyond the city limits at the time, after the previous burial ground became too small. During World War II the area was part of the ghetto and served for mass burials of victims who died from hunger and violence.
Many graves carry detailed inscriptions in Hebrew and Yiddish, with some adding German or Polish text. The stones stand close together and form a mosaic of different eras, reflecting how the community changed over more than two centuries.
The entrance sits directly on Okopowa Street and is easy to reach by public transport from the city center. The grounds are large and partly uneven, so comfortable shoes are advisable and you should allow time to walk slowly through the paths.
Many visitors place small stones on the graves, an old tradition of remembrance instead of bringing flowers. The dense planting has developed over decades and gives the place a quiet, secluded feeling right in the middle of the city.
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