Žilina Gallery :: Fotogaléria mesta Žiliny

Ceremoniálna hala – Ceremonial Hall – אולם ההספדים

Židovský cintorín v Žiline – בית הקברות היהודי בז'ילינה – Jewish Cemetery in Zilina (Slovakia)
(Foto: 30. 4. 2012)

The Jewish cemetery in Zilina is the best maintained in all of Slovakia. The cemetery is located at the west end of town, on Jesenskeho Street. At the entrance is an iron gate, and the remaining three walls are protected by a thick wall. The cemetery measures 40 x 180 meters, and contains about 1450 graves. Behind the front gate is ash alley, and beyond it is the Ceremonial Hall, with two smaller buildings adjacent to it on both sides. The cemetery lies on the horizon line and can be entered by passing through the Ceremonial Hall. When entering the Ceremonial Hall, you need to wear a head cover.

Passing through the gate from Jesenskeho Street, you come to ash alley, and ahead of you is the Ceremonial Hall. Two smaller buildings are adjacent to the Hall from both sides, one of which houses the caretaker of the cemetery. In the simple interior with coffered ceilings, you can find a catafalque for the coffin and a place for the bereaved. The ceremonial Hall is where you pay your last respects to the deceased, but it also serves as a prayer hall with a memorial to the victims of the Holocaust, designed by Architect Jozef Zweigenthal. The large Ceremonial Hall was built in 1936 by the Stein brothers. A memorial ceremony is held in the Ceremonial Hall every year, commemorating the six million Jews that perished during World War II.