After two years of work, the federally fundedrestoration of the Jewish Cemetery in Linz has been completed, and the cemetery was handed over to the local municipality, which will be responsible for its further care and maintenance.
The cemetery, owned by the Linz Jewish community, was established in 1863 and includes around 800 graves and a tahara house. It is listed as a protected monument.
The Fund for the Restoration of the Jewish Cemeteries in Austria granted around €1,37 million in federal funds for the project.
With planning starting in 2020, the extensive restoration included “master builder work, metal restoration, stonemasonry work, gardening work,” the Fund said.
VIPs at the December 1 handover ceremony included Wolfgang Sobotka, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Fund for the Restoration of the Jewish Cemeteries in Austria and President of the Austrian National Council; Charlotte Herman,the President of the Jewish Community in Linz; Vienna Chief Rabbi Jaron Engelmayer; the Bishop of Linz Manfred Scheucher; Deputy Governor Christine Haberlander; and Linz Deputy Mayor Karin Hörzing.
In a statement on the Fund’s announcement of the handover, Sobotka said:
“In my role as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the National Fund and the Fund for the Restoration of the Jewish Cemeteries, the restoration of the Jewish cemeteries in Austria is a particular concern of mine. Jewish cemeteries must be preserved not only as places of remembrance, but also as places of mediation and learning for future generations. They are evidence of an important part of Austrian history that must not be forgotten. Facing history, making Jewish life in Austria visible and preserving the memory in the collective memory is the responsibility of all of us as a society – especially with regard to the fight against anti-Semitism in the present.”
The Fund for the Restoration of the Jewish Cemeteries in Austria (its web site states) was established in December 2010 in implementation of Austria’s international legal obligation set out in the “Washington Agreement” to restore and maintain known and unknown Jewish cemeteries in Austria. For this purpose, the Fund, established under the auspices of the National Council, is allocated an annual sum of one million Euros by the Federation over a period of twenty years; the Law also stipulates that the respective owners of the Jewish cemeteries contribute funds for the restoration work in the same amount.
Last year, the Fund published the bilingual (German and English) Visitors’ guide to the Jewish Cemeteries in Austria
The guide was produced jointly with the Jewish religious communities and grassroots initiatives and for the first time includes all known Jewish cemeteries as well as Jewish sections of cemeteries throughout Austria.
The guide is as handy as it is informative: using QR codes, information on over 60 Jewish cemeteries and completed restoration projects out can be accessed via the website of the Jewish Cemeteries Fund. FOGIS, the geo-information portal of the National Fund, also provides a chance to explore the cemeteries on interactive maps using GPS. In addition to the most important historical facts, information on visiting a cemetery, photos and maps, the guide also provides contact details for arranging guided tours.
Read the announcement of the completion of work and handover