| Cemetery Description: |
Jewish Cemetery of Salzburg: Near the east bank of the river and almost at the southern limit of the city is the Jewish cemetery (just south of the intersection between the Uferstrasse and the Valkenauerstrasse). A "Chewra-Kadischa" burial society was founded in 1893 and bought this land for a cemetery in what was then an independent village of Aigen. The Aigen district officials objected to the cemetery, saying it was offensive to the religion of Aigen's Catholic residents, but the provincial authorities rejected their protest. It could just be an ironic coincidence that the Valkenauerstrasse street which ends at the side of the Jewish cemetery appears to have been named after the sculptor who made the Judensau for the Salzburg Rathaus in the 15th century, but it is more likely to have been an intentional insult after the Aigen community was unable to prevent the location of the Jewish cemetery here. Rudolf Fürst, who had died the previous December, was the first to be buried here when his body was transferred from the municipal cemetery. One curiosity was the burial here of Leon Zucker in 1898. He had died suddenly in the RR station while traveling through Salzburg and was taken for a Jew from his name and appearance and buried here. When his effects were examined later it was discovered that he was a Christian convert and an English missionary, but his grave was left undisturbed. In 1938 the Nazis seized the property. After deciding it had "no anthropological value" the Nazi authorities sold it to Maria Frenkenberger, the former caretaker. She sold 68 of the 100 gravestones and turned the mortuary into a cow-barn for the animals she pastured in the cemetery. In August 1945 the American occupation forces took control of the property and annulled the sale to Frau Frenkenberger (judging by an Army report the American investigators were shocked by the desecration of the cemetery and the filth that covered the graves). Later they returned the cemetery to the restored Jewish Community and it has been restored with loving care. Since 1946 it has again functioned as the Jewish cemetery for Salzburg and it is well cared for. The city of Salzburg has added an attractive memorial apologizing for the vandalization of the cemetery in the Nazi years and listing the names and dates of all those buried here before 1939 whose markers were not restored. The cemetery is open to visitors from 10am to 4pm daily from Sundays through Fridays. |
