This site is
hosted by JewishGen, Inc.
and part of the KehilaLinks Project
Visit Stropkov, Sixty Years
Later
Getting
There
When
to visit? Spring
and fall are probably the best times,
especially if one plans to visit
cemeteries—because
graves are covered with heavy vegetation in
the summer and snowed-under
in the winter.
Stropkov
is accessible
from
Perhaps
a better alternative
is to contact Harry Weinberger, a
Stropkov Holocaust survivor who
lives in
What
to See
Stropkov
today is far
different from Stropkov of
old. The Jewish stores that once
lined the main street
are gone, replaced by supermarkets and
row-stores. There are no Jews …the
Rebbe's house near the brook, the shul,
the beismedrish,
the mikveh ...all gone....only
the two Jewish cemeteries
remain--mute memorials to a vanished
community.
For
the adventuresome, take a
peek at Stropkov today (in Slovakian)
Start
your visit by requesting
a Stropkov town
map at the Town Hall, located at 38-2
Hlavna Ulica (
Tisinec
Jewish Cemetery
(c1650-1892)
In tiny Tisinec,
four kilometers north of
Stropkov, locate the Prusec family, caretakers and
keyholders of the cemetery
gate. Ask them to accompany you--and don't forget
to leave a tip.
To proceed on your
own: at the Tisinec crossroads, turn right, then
immediately bear left. Follow
the two-rut
overgrown tractor path, crossing a
small bridge, then heading out into the fields.
After a while, just past the
water tower, you
will notice a
large overgrown area to your left, markedly
different from the flat, furrowed
fields around it. This is the
cemetery-- returning
to nature. A
single building stands--a tiny mausoleum,
or "tent", protecting the grave of Rav Chaim Yosef
Gottlieb. The
grave of Rabbi Shlomo Baruch Tannenbaum is also
here. Most
of the ancient
tombstones have toppled and are illegible.
Stropkov
Jewish Cemetery (1892-1942)
This cemetery,
now enveloped
by Stropkov’s
residential area, is the final
resting place of some 600
Jews. Many
of its tombstones, flaked and worn with
time, are illegible.
Others, though
readable, show first
names, dates,
and fathers’ names—but no surnames. A single
"tent" stands,
guarding the grave of the “Zborover Ruv”, Rabbi Yitzhak Hersh
Amsel.
Neither maps
nor burial lists have
been found for either cemetery. But
death
certificates. available through the Stropkov
and/or Presov Archives, do note burial
places.
The
Stropkov Archives is
located in the town square, adjoining
the old castle and the
Catholic church. Here you will
find birth, marriage, and
death records of local residents
dating from c1898 through the
present. (Jewish records stop abruptly in
spring of 1942, of
course.) The archivists are very
obliging: they will readily carry
out the impressive, heavy tomes, and help you
search for your
great-grandfather's birth certificate. Look
to the right of the entry:
there you may see the signature of your great-great
grandfather--if
it was he who reported the birth! It is
possible to photocopy the
signature on the spot, and, for a nominal
fee, order official
certificates. You can also contact the
archives in Presov and
While
You’re in the Neighborhood
Because
a few short hours will
suffice in Stropkov itself, it is recommended that
the tourist also visit
other Eastern Slovakia sights: Bardejov, the
Bardejov Spa, the
impressive
wooden
churches, Dukla, the Rusyn villages, the
Read the
latest issue of The Slovak
Spectator.
© Copyright 2017 by Melody
Amsel-Arieli.
All rights reserved.
Updated 13 May 2025
rlb
Webmaster: Melody
Amsel-Ariel
Coordinator: Susana Leistner
Bloch
JewishGen Home
Page | KehilatLinks
Directory |
Hungarian
SIG
