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The Old Jewish Cemetery is the only gravesite of the turn of the 19th and 20th century, which is still preserved in Wroclaw. It is also an inventive and unique composition of grave sculptures and smaller architectures, harmoniously coexisting with a properly maintained and carefully cultivated green. The appearance of the graves has changed over the years - from traditional, tightly made tombstones to bold and monumental forms, family tombstones. In those the influence of architectures of all ages are observable: from Ancient times over Middle Ages and Art Nouveau to Modernism. In abundance also were used symbols, secular and religious ones. The first burial in the cemetery took place in 1856, the last one in 1942. At that time the cemetery has been extended three times. In 1975 he entered in the register of monuments of the city and since 1988 he works with the rank of a museum. Currently, the area of the cemetery is almost 5 acres on which you can find about 12 thousand tombstones. The Old Jewish Cemetery is one of the few surviving monuments, which is connected with the history of the Jewish community in Wroclaw. The Jewish community had due to their position and wealth a huge influence on the economic and cultural development of Wroclaw. The orderly appearance of the cemetery and the dynamics behind some tombstones are a result of the Haskalah movement - a movement with origins in Germany, demanding enlightening reforms in favour of assimilation.
In the cemetery there are many prominent personalities, including those who have died suddenly in Wroclaw and were buried here
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