Jewish cemetery (Hohenems)

Hohenems is located only a few kilometers from  Bregenz in Vorarlberg. If you leave the small town in a southerly direction, you will find the Israelite cemetery on the slope of the "Schwefelberg".

It was first used for burials as the burial place of the Jewish community of Hohenems in the year 1617. Since then it has been renovated and expanded several times, most recently in 1957, 1959 and 1978. Memorial plaques refer to the last renovations. The cemetery survived the National Socialist era almost unscathed, although it had been "Aryanized" by the local government of the time. The entire site was restored in an exemplary manner and is still in use today. It is managed by a Swiss association. The cemetery is locked, and the key can be obtained at the Jewish Museum (Villa Heimann-Rosenthal, Schweizer Strasse 5) which is well worth a visit, for a deposit. Male visitors must wear a head covering; the cemetery cannot be visited on Shabath. In total, there are about 500 graves in the cemetery. 370 tombstones have been preserved to this day.

Wolfgang&Gisela Heumann, 1-2019