The distinctive “weeping willow” gate from the most famous art nouveau tomb in Budapest’s Kozma utca Jewish cemetery has been removed. Apparent online evidence suggests it was stolen by metal thieves.
The turquoise blue tomb of the Schmidl family was erected in 1902-04 and designed by the noted architect Bela Lajta.
It is decorated inside and out with ceramic work and mosaics in floral and other colorful designs that also employ gilding. The gate was a graceful stylized depiction of a weeping willow tree — a symbol of mourning.
As far as we can tell, there has been no formal statement about the removal or theft of the doors, or whether police are investigating.
We have written to the Budapest Jewish Community asking information, but have not yet heard back.
The disappearance of the gate appears to have been first brought to attention on Sunday in a Facebook post in a Hungarian cemetery tourism Facebook group.
An image search on google lens produces an image that appears to show the gate listed for sale on the Romanian marketplace web site OLX.ro.
The listing, however, is no longer on that web site.
Social media commenters said police are now patrolling the cemetery area more frequently. Some pointed out that metal thieves have targeted cemeteries in the past.
The gate was removed more than a month ago — a video posted on Facebook June 18 by a visitor to the cemetery, U.S. Rabbi Jacques Cukierkorn, clearly showed that the gate was already gone.
