a sacred secret garden

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Last year, a client who used to live in the city of Wroclaw, Poland when they were a child asked me to photograph the Old Jewish Cemetery so they could have a souvenir of how they used to play there, many decades ago. They said that they would sneak in there with their friends when it was completely abandoned (way before it was made into a museum) and that it was their "secret garden".

The cemetery opened in 1856 and the last burial there took place in 1942. This is the only one such necropolis that has been preserved in Wroclaw. The tombstones vary from small single headstones, through large sculptures, all the way to almost mausoleum-like structures build for family tombs. Their architecture styles also display a whole plethora of design influences from the Ancient, though the Middle Ages all the way to Renaissance and Baroque. Most of the inscriptions engraved on the tombstones were written in German and/or Hebrew as the city of Wroclaw (Breslau) was part of Germany during more of the years the cemetery was "active". In 1975, it officially became of of the city's monuments, and in 1988 it became a part of the City Museum of Wroclaw. Even though it's been well protected and cared for since then, its abandoned look created mostly by nature slowly swallowing up the ancient-looking tombstones has been purposely preserved and I personally really appreciate it.

The cemetery suffered greatly during the World War II and you can still see a lot of the war signs (such as bullet holes) in many of the structures.

It could be just me reacting to the captivating, secret-garden-like setting and knowing a little bit about its history, but every time I visit this cemetery I get this almost visceral feeling of profound tragedy and suffering, of personal and historic significance, as well as a very humbling feeling, a gentle reminder if you will of the power of time and nature over us all somehow delivered in the most peaceful way, that's both impersonal and loving at the same time. I don't know if that makes sense to you, but it somehow does to me.

Beyond all that, or perhaps also because of it, I find the Old Jewish Cemetery to be a beautiful place, visually speaking, especially during certain times of the day such as the Golden Hour. The photos I took were captured in the summer and in the fall, hence the noticeable difference in colors. I hope they inspire you to visit this cemetery (a museum now) when you get a chance.

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