Ichnya Jewish Cemetery
Cemetery Information
Country
Ukraine
Region
Chernihiv
District
Ichnia
Settlement
Ichnya (former Vyzhen' village)
Site address
Ichnya Jewish Cemetery
GPS coordinates
50.877289, 32.350877
Perimeter length
489 metres
Is the cemetery demolished
no
Type and height of existing fence
No fence
Preservation condition
Fenced and protected Jewish cemetery
General site condition
Unfenced Jewish cemetery. The cemetery is severely overgrown with trees and bushes. Some old trees fell on the tombstones. Moreover, a number of the graves are not marked by stones, but by small mounds.
Number of existing gravestones
10. One matzeva (most likely the oldest) has been absorbed into an old tree, leaving the date illegible.
Date of oldest tombstone
1911
Date of newest tombstone
1989
Urgency of erecting a fence
High
Land ownership
Property of local community
Preserved construction on site
Drone surveys
No
Historical overview
The exact period of the cemetery’s establishment is unknown. Given the oldest matzeva dates to the early 20th century, it can be inferred the cemetery was founded in that era. The cemetery can be found marked on a Red Army map of the region from 1939.
The earliest evidence of a Jewish community in Ichnya dates to the latter half of the 19th century. In 1903, Jews were granted permission to settle in Ichnya. The rabbi was Chaim Alexander-Sender Belinka. In 1910, 575 Jews lived in the town, and a synagogue and a cemetery had been established. The Jewish community survived a pogrom carried out by the Directorate in 1919. By 1926, the Jewish community had reduced by half (250 people; 2,1% of the total population). In 1939, there were only 148 people left. Ichnya was occupied form September 14th, 1941 until September 15th-17th, 1943. As of 2018, the total population numbered 11,042 people. The exact period of the cemetery’s establishment is unknown. The oldest matzeva dates to the early 20th century. The cemetery can be found marked on a Red Army map of the region from 1939, and its boundaries have remained unchanged since. There are separate sections for men and women. The last known Hasidic Jewish burial took place in 1989.
