It is one of the largest and most beautiful Jewish cemeteries in all of Europe
In addition to the three existing UNESCO world heritage sites in the German capital, Berlin proposes two places as future world heritage sites. The Jewish Cemetery in Weißensee is one of them:
The largest Jewish cemetery in Europe was inaugurated in 1880. More than 100.000 people have found their final rest here.
At the circular flower bed, which can be reached from the main entrance, is found a monument commemorating the six million Jews who were victims of Nazi persecution. On the stones arranged in a circle, the names of all the major concentration camps are inscribed.
Behind the circular flower bed is old mourning hall, which was built in 1880 by Hugo Licht and whose acoustics were already highly praised at the time of its inauguration. To the south of the mourning hall, which was built in 1910 and destroyed in 1944, there is a field of honour for the fallen Jewish soldiers in the Great War. In its centre, there is a three-metre high limestone monument, which represents an altar on a monumental scale.
To the right of the main entrance in the north corner of the cemetery, there is a burial place for about 90 of the Torah scrolls which were desecrated during the pogrom night of 1938. Many famous Berliners are buried here, including the politician 1859-1934 Max Hirsch (1832-1905), the Hebrew author Micha Josef Bin Gorion (1865-1921), the painter Lesser Ury (1861-1931) and the publisher Samuel Fischer (1859-1934) and Rudolf Mosse (1843-1920).
Digital guide-system
Visitors may discover the historic Jewish cemeteries with the aid of a digital guide-system, downloadable by a QR code, in English and in German language. It provides information about the history of the cemeteries, about selected graves and the interred persons. You'll find the information on www.juedische-friedhoefe-berlin.de, too. The guide-system includes the Jewish cemeteries in the Große Hamburger Straße, in Schönhauser Allee and in Weißensee.
Infobox
Address
Herbert-Baum-Straße 45
13088 Berlin Weißensee
Tel.: 030 – 9253330
