• Skip to content
  • Home
  • Destinations
    • Europe
    • Asia
    • Africa
  • Germany
    • Baden-Württemberg
    • Bavaria
    • Brandenburg
    • Berlin
    • Bremen
    • Hamburg
    • Hesse
    • Lower Saxony
    • Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
    • North Rhine-Westphalia
    • Rhineland-Palatinate
    • Saxony
    • Saxony-Anhalt
    • Schleswig-Holstein
    • Thuringia
  • Home
  • Topic
    • Breweries, beer, beer tours
    • Wine, wine tasting, wine hikes
    • Hiking in Germany
    • UNESCO Sites in Germany
    • Christmas markets
    • City passes
    • This and that
  • Deutsch
  • English (UK)
Destinations > Germany > Berlin

Old Jewish Cemetery

Nestled between houses in Berlin-Mitte is an enchanted place that only reveals its history when you take a closer look. This is the site of the Old Jewish Cemetery.

Actually, I only became aware of the Old Jewish Cemetery because I passed a truly extraordinary monument during my wanderings through the streets of Berlin.

Figurengruppe am üdischen Friedhof Berlin Mitte

This group of figures was originally designed by Will Lammert for the Ravensbrück memorial. However, he was unable to complete it before his death in 1957. Mark Lammert later completed the work and since 1985 the impressive work of art has stood next to the entrance to the cemetery.

The origin of the cemetery

In 1671, the Great Elector allowed about 50 Jewish families expelled from Vienna to settle in Berlin. They also received permission to establish a Jewish community. Mordechai Model acquired the plot of land on today’s Große Hamburger Straße so that the community could have a cemetery. The first member of the community was buried there in May 1672. Today, the cemetery is considered the oldest Jewish cemetery in Berlin.

Grabsteine

The Jewish community in the city grew only slowly at first and there were only a few burials on the grounds. Other Jewish communities, for example from Potsdam, were allowed to bury their dead there.

In 1794, a state hygiene regulation stipulated that corpses could no longer be buried in churches or in inhabited areas. In Berlin, the time of cemetery closures and the relocation of cemeteries outside the city began. The Jewish Cemetery was also affected by this measure from 1817 and had to find a new site for burials. The area continued to be used for another 10 years. Each burial required a separate permit from the king.

rekonstruierter Grabstein Moses Mendessohn

In 1827, the Jewish Cemetery closed. Over the years, thousands of Jews are said to have been buried on the 5,900 square metre site. One of the most famous among them, certainly still today, was Moses Mendelssohn. To this day, he is considered the forerunner of the Haskalah, the Jewish Enlightenment, and is also referred to by his followers as the ‘German Socrates’. The gravesite has been reconstructed several times. The gravestone today is presumably in the same place where the original once stood.

What happened to the Old Jewish Cemetery after its closure?

In 1844, a Jewish old people’s home was built at the entrance to the now former cemetery grounds. The cemetery itself remained intact due to the perpetual right of rest. The entrance was moved from Oranienburger Straße to Hamburger Straße and the 120 residents of the old people’s home initially used the grounds as a park. The nearby Jewish boys’ school used the cemetery grounds for nature lessons.

During the National Socialist era, the Secret State Police used the old people’s home as a collection camp for about 55,000 Jewish residents from about 1942. In 1943, the old people’s home and the cemetery were destroyed. A slit trench was cut through the middle of the grounds, the bones of the dead were pulled out of the ground and gravestones were destroyed.

Alte Jüdische Friedhof Berlin Mitte

In April 1945, mass graves were laid out on the site, in which 2,427 fallen and killed civilians from the street fighting were buried.

After the Second World War, the site was returned to the care of the Jewish community in September 1948. For a while, the grounds were used as a park. The site has been a listed building since 1974. In 2007/07, the area was redesigned to make the cemetery visible again. The installation of a water basin for the ritual washing of hands was also taken into account and prayer and information boards were installed.

Grabsteine Alte Jüdische Friedhof

Walking through the Old Jewish Cemetery today is almost like visiting a small park. The path leads along small paths over the overgrown and “natural” looking grounds, which in my opinion are not very reminiscent of a cemetery. On the southern wall of the cemetery, there are gravestones embedded in the wall that survived the destruction of National Socialism. I find it very exciting that the inscriptions on some of the stones can still be recognised quite well. I couldn’t read the texts because of the characters, but that’s not really that important.

Address:

Große Hamburger Strasse 26,
10115 Berlin

Opening hours:

1.4.- 30.9.
weekdays: 7.30-17 h
Sunday: 8-17 h

1.10 – 31.3.
weekdays: 7.3 -16 h
Sunday: 8-16 h

On the eve of Shabbat and Jewish holidays only until 14h.

closed: Shabbat (Friday) and Jewish holidays

  • share  
  • tweet 
  • save  1 
  • share 

Related Posts:

  • Jagdgruppe Berliner Tiergarten
    Stroll through the Great Tiergarten
    One of the largest and most central parks in Berlin…
  • Gedenkstätte Plötzensee
    The Path of Memory - On the Road in the Charlottenburg-North…
    During a walk some time ago I discovered a sign…
  • Virtuelle live Stadtführung durch die Friedrich-Wilhelm-Stadt in Berlin Mitte
    Virtual live city tour: Friedrich-Wilhelm-Stadt
    If you can't travel and experience the city tour live,…

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  • Impress
  • Privacy Policy
  • Photo credit
  • About us

Berlin
  • Arkaden im Park
    Ruhwaldpark Berlin- unknown and beautiful
  • Oberbaumbrücke Berlin
    One of Berlin’s most beautiful bridges – the Oberbaumbrücke
  • Regenspazergang Freizeitpark Lübars
    Rain walk through the Lübars leisure park
  • verrostete Gitter Grabstätte
    Small cemetery in Berlin’s Westend – Luisenfriedhof II
  • rekonstruierte Gerichtslaube in dem Berliner Nikolaiviertel
    A walk through Berlin’s Nikolai Quarter
  • Parkbewohner im Schutz einer Brücke
    Stroll through Buch Castle Park
  • Jaczoturm
    The story of the Jaczoturm in Spandau and the Schildhorn in Grunewald
  • Gräber direkt am Sausuhlensee
    Heerstraße Cemetery – the final resting place of many celebrities
  • Sowjetische Ehrenmal Buch
    Soviet memorial Buch
  • Pin in Mitte von Berlin
    Where is the center of Berlin?
  • Borsigturm
    The first high-rise building in Berlin
  • Große Kuppelhalle Bode Museum
    Bode Museum on Museum Island
  • Wanderung im Tegler Fließtal
    Water buffalo and deadwood trees in the Tegeler Fließtal
  • Garten des Exils
    Jewish Museum Berlin
  • blaue Baumstämme im Grunewald
    Hike through the Grunewald forest in Berlin
  • Schloss Bellevue
    I wonder if the Federal President is in Bellevue Palace?
  • Wanderung auf dem Havelhöhenweg
    Hike on the Havel Heights Trail
  • Grab Valentin
    Cemeteries at Fürstenbrunner Weg
  • Berlin Gedenkstätte Gleis 17
    Grunewald station and the platform 17
  • Jungfernbrücke
    Little Berlin discovery: Berlin’s oldest preserved bridge
  • Einzeldarstellung der Löwen vom Tor
    Pergamon Museum – a museum visit
  • Berlin Distillery
    Gin from Berlin – about gin tasting and gin distilling courses
  • Pause bei der Wanderung in Schmöckwitz
    Hiking in Berlin-Schmöckwitz
  • Nordfries
    Pergamonmuseum. The Panorama
  • Berliner Bürgerbräu
    Berliner Bürgerbräu – Lost Place or ???
  • Berliner Reichstag
    The Berlin Reichstag – viewpoint with history
  • Marx-Engels-Forum
    Relic from GDR times: Marx Engels Forum
  • "Berge in Berlin"
    Viewpoint Drachenberg
  • Treppe in den Spreetunnel
    Deep under the Spree – in the pedestrian tunnel Friedrichshagen
  • Jagdgruppe Berliner Tiergarten
    Stroll through the Great Tiergarten
  • Gropiusbau
    Hansaviertel (Hansa Quarter) – architectural diversity
  • Mengenlehreuhr in Berlin
    What time is it? – the set theory clock
  • East Side Gallery
    East Side Gallery
  • Breitscheidplatz, Spaziergang über den Kurfürstendamm
    Walk along the Kurfürstendamm and the Tauentzien
  • ltes Museum Berlin
    Altes Museum Berlin (Old Museum)
  • Schwerbelastungskörper
    Heavy burden body and SA-Memorial Site SA Prison Papestraße – on the way on the history parcours
  • Gaslaternen-Freilichtmuseum
    Gaslamp Open Air Museum Berlin
  • Parochialkirche Kirchhof
    The singing clock of the Parochial Church
  • Lietzensee in Berlin Charlottenburg
    Walk in Lietzenseepark
  • Wanderung zur Friedhofsbahn
    Hike to the almost forgotten cemetery railroad
  • Berlin Klosterstraße in Mitte, Ruine
    There is a ruin in the middle of Berlin
  • Fernsehturm in Berlin
    The Berlin TV Tower does not stand on Alexanderplatz
  • Schillerdenkmal
    Schillerpark in Wedding
  • Berliner Funkturm
    What you can discover between ICC and Theodor-Heuss-Platz
  • Georg Kolbe
    Georg Kolbe Museum
  • Bierpinsel in Berlin
    Why is the Bierpinsel actually called Bierpinsel?
  • Bahnhof Berlin Alexanderplatz
    Berlin Alexanderplatz
  • Friedhöfe vor dem Halleschen Tor
    Cemeteries in front of the Halleschen Tor
  • HiFlyer Berlin
    In tethered balloon high above Berlin
  • Kunst auf der Hauswand
    Artpark Tegel – Open Air Gallery with Murals
  • Berliner Kongresshalle
    The Pregnant Oyster and the Carillon in the Tiergarten
  • Eingang Ehrenmal Schönholzer Heide
    Soviet Memorial in Schönholzer Heide
  • Rückseite des Tors
    Brandenburg Gate – the sight in Berlin
  • Gare Française de Tegel
    Gare Française de Tegel – Tegel French Military Station
  • Berlin Botanischer Garten
    A botanical journey around the world through the Botanic Garden Berlin
  • Radtour Tegler See
    Cycling tour around Lake Tegel
  • Erinnerungsstätte Notaufnahmelager Marienfelde
    Marienfelde transit camp – the end and the beginning of a journey
  • Häuser im Museumsdorf Düppel
    Düppel Museum Village – Visit to the Middle Ages
  • Denkmal Berliner Mauer
    MEMORIAL STATION BERLINER MAUER on Bernauer Strasse
  • Ganf durch das Stelenfeld
    Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe or Holocaust Memorial in Berlin
  • DDR Museum
    DDR Museum or Welcome to the “East” of Berlin
  • Interbau 57 in Berlin
    Guided tour by art:berlin “International Architecture 1957 – The Hansaviertel”
  • russisch orthodoxe Kirche in Berlin
    Guided tour through Charlottengrad
  • Deutsche Kinemathek – Museum für Film und Fernsehen
    Deutsche Kinemathek – Museum for Film and Television
  • Kollhof Tower in Berlin
    High above Berlin on the Panorama Point at Potsdamer Platz
  • Dampferanlegestelle Greenwichpromenade
    Greenwich Promenade – Walk to the Sechserbrücke
  • Blick auf das Konzerthaus am Gendarmenmarkt
    Gendarmenmarkt Berlin – one of the most beautiful squares in the city
  • Escape Room Berlin
    Experience Sherlock’s dream in the Escape Room in Berlin
  • Ringerdenkmal im Volkspark Rehberge
    Green Wedding – the Volkspark Rehberge
  • Naturkundemuseum
    The dinos are coming – from the Natural History Museum
  • Eingang der Zitadelle Spandau
    The Spandau Citadel – a visit to a historic fortress complex
  • Blick zum Schloss Charlottenburg
    Visit to the summer residence of the Hohenzollerns in Berlin – Charlottenburg Palace
  • Gedenkstätte Plötzensee
    The Path of Memory – On the Road in the Charlottenburg-North Memorial Region
  • Seifenblasen
    Magical moments in the illusion theatre
  • Großsiedlung Siemensstadt - UNESCO Welterbesiedlung
    Do you know the „Langen Jammer“ and the „Panzerkreuzer“?
  • Autobahnüberbauung Schlangenbader Strasse
    Freeway superstructure Schlangenbader Straße – unusual living in Berlin
  • Berlin NS zwangsarbeiterlager
    Documentation Centre Nazi Forced Labour
  • Krematorium Wedding
    Crematorium Wedding – an unusual guided tour
  • Tasting Bar im Berlin Disgusting Food Museum
    Disgusting Food Museum Berlin
  • Wanderung von Lübars - Sonnenuntergang
    Hike from Lübars to Schönfließ and back – 15.9 km
  • Begrüßung durch einen Roboter im Futurium
    Futurium – a look into the future, insight into the future
  • Militär Historisches Museum - Dakota
    Spandau Tip: Military History Museum
  • Berliner Hahneberg
    The Hahneberg a vantage point in Spandau
  • Forgotten – but still present- the S-Bahn across Siemensstadt
  • Malthouse of the Schultheiss Brewery in Schöneberg
    Malthouse of the Schultheiss Brewery in Schöneberg
  • Allied Museum – a journey through Berlin history
  • Ernst-Thälmann-Park
    Ernst Thälmann Park in Prenzlauer Berg
  • Berlin Volkspark Jungfernheide
    Berlin the green city – Volkspark Jungfernheide in Siemensstadt
  • Eisacktunnel
    Discoveries in Berlin’s underground: Eisack Tunnel and Innsbrucker Platz
  • Tempelhofer Flughafen
    Tempelhof Airport – Part 2 of the sightseeing tour
  • Spree
    As a Berliner, always along the Spree…
  • Rosinenbomer
    Sightseeing tour of Tempelhof Airport – Part 1
  • Spy Museum Berlin
    Spy Museum Berlin
  • Dampfer fahren in Berlin
    With the paddle steamer across the Havel
  • Geschichtspark Zellengefängnis Moabit
    Moabit Cellular Prison History Park
  • Volkspark Friedrichshain
    Sunday walk in Volkspark Friedrichshain
  • German Museum of Technology in Berlin
    Bright eyes in the German Museum of Technology
  • radar and listening station Teufelsberg
    Former US radar and listening station Teufelsberg
  • Discover Berlin from a different perspective with a city tour on a special theme. The Soviet Berlin today and then.
    “Soviet Berlin – Through the Red Metropolis” a city tour with Berlin Taiga
  • Live Escape Room
    Big Päng – in the Live Escape Room in Berlin
  • Virtuelle live Stadtführung durch die Friedrich-Wilhelm-Stadt in Berlin Mitte
    Virtual live city tour: Friedrich-Wilhelm-Stadt
  • TXL - Flughafen Tegel
    Bye Bye TXL – Bye Bye Tegel Airport
  • Friedhof Plötzensee
    Plötzensee Cemetery
  • Vood Mobil
    Vegan street food from the Vood Mobil
  • BrewDog DogTap Berlin
    BrewDog DogTap Berlin – Beer without borders
  • Escape Room - Knast 13
    Escape from prison in 55 minutes 13 – Escape Room
  • Blick in Saunafloss
    Pure relaxation – travelling on the Havel in a sauna raft
  • Getting to know Berlin - Neukölln / Rixdorf
    Getting to know Berlin – Neukölln / Rixdorf
  • Bus 100 - quer durch die Berliner City
    City tour with bus line 100
  • Museum der Illusionen
    Museum of Illusions – or do you believe everything you see?
  • Streetfood markt
    Streetfood at the KulturBrauerei
  • Eiskeller Schild
    The coldest place in Berlin
  • Weihnachtsmarkt Schloss Charlottenburg
    Christmas market in front of Charlottenburg Palace in Berlin
  • Weihnachtsmarkt im Johannisstift
    With the steam locomotive to the Christmas market at Johannisstift
  • Christmas market at the Gedächniskirche
    Christmas Market at the Gedächniskirche (Memorial Church)
  • Weihnachtsmarkt am Roten Rathaus
    Berlin Mitte: Christmas market at the Rotes Rathaus
  • Weihnachtsmarkt in der Kulturbrauerei, Berlin-Prenzlauer Berg" _ Jochen Loch
    Lucia Christmas Market in Berlin’s Kulturbrauerei
  • On the road with the Glühwein Express of the Berlin Railway Friends
  • Sowjetische Ehrenmal im Tiergarten
    Soviet memorial in Tiergarten
  • Sowjetische Ehrenmal im Treptower Park
    Soviet Memorial in Treptow Park
  • Hauptstadtflughafen Berlin Brandenburg
    #BERtesten – testing the new Berlin-Brandenburg Airport
  • Boat tour from Spandau to Potsdam on the MS Heiterkeit (MS Joy)
    Boat tour from Spandau to Potsdam on the MS Heiterkeit (MS Joy)
  • Spandau Lock
    Spandau Lock
  • Glienicke Bridge – a place full of history
    Glienicke Bridge – a place full of history
  • Tegel Airport: The view from the visitor’s deck
    Tegel Airport: The view from the visitor’s deck
  • The Aquarium Berlin
    The Aquarium Berlin
  • Stand up paddle boarding on the Schlachtensee Lake in Berlin
    Stand up paddle boarding on the Schlachtensee Lake in Berlin
  • Escape Berlin
    Spinning heads and question marks in our eyes in the Escape Room Berlin
  • Friedrichstadt-Palast Berlin – THE ONE Grand Show
    Friedrichstadt-Palast Berlin – THE ONE Grand Show
  • Almost an insider tip: Stone Brewing-Berlin
    Almost an insider tip: Stone Brewing-Berlin
  • victory column
    Victory column on the Große Stern in Berlin – Siegessäule
  • Olympic Stadium Berlin
    Olympic Stadium Berlin – a visit
  • Pfaueninsel – Recreation in the big city of Berlin
  • Almost forgotten – the Spreepark Berlin
Menu: Berlin