GRODNO GUBERNIYA POLAND IMAGING PROJECT
SURVEY OF JEWISH CEMETERIES
by Heidi M. Szpek, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Department of Philosophy and Religion Studies
Central Washington University
May 2007
Partial funding provided by: The Department of Philosophy & The Office of International Studies and Programs Grant Committee,
Central Washington University, Ellensburg, Washington 98926, USA
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Mielnik
52°20'N 23°03'E Size: .5 acre Number of matzevoth: >10 (4 with inscriptions, 1 matzevah overturned, 1 base, sarcophagus top) Bagnowka.com: Mielnik Gallery (photographed in 1989)
Image 1
Directions: What remains of the Mielnik Jewish cemetery is NOT easy to locate. Most of the matzevoth were removed during World War II to pave roads; those remaining have steadily been disappearing. From Siemiatycze travel 3 km south to highway 640 and go east 6 km to a small highway at right which heads SE to Mielnik. You will enter Mielnik on the northern edge of town. Pass the next road heading North to Radziwillowka (and back to 640). Take the next road out of town – the Metna Road. The town of Mienik will have been on your right (south). Leaving town you will pass a Catholic cemetery on your left, with a building housing a non-profit organization at right. Just ahead on the left will be a large chalk factory. The white dust on the road will distinguish this factory. (Image 1) Turn left onto the white dirt road immediately after the factory (Image 2) and immediately you will encounter a fork in the road (Image 3). Stay to your right. Within a few yards will be what remains of the Jewish cemetery of Mielnik with no discerning Jewish markers, just large boulders (4 and 5).
Conditions: The cemetery is now covered with thin, young woods merging with thicker pine and evergreen forest (Images 1,4,5). There is some garbage dumped in the area and the greatest danger is from the encroaching development of the nearby chalk factory. The few remaining tombstones are not easy to locate, having fallen. Locating the cover of a sarcophagus, which rests on its side can aid in finding the remaining tombstones, which are nearby (Images 6,7). The tombstone inscriptions are worn or moss-covered. (Images 8-12)
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