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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The Jewish cemetery of Ettendorf, located in the Lower Rhine in the Grand East region, is a historic monument registered since 1995. It covers 3.9 hectares and has more than 3000 steles, the oldest of which date back to the late 16th century. This cemetery is exceptional because it preserves stone steles, forbidden to Jews after 1349 but allowed again in Ettendorf around 1550.

The Jewish community in the imperial domain obtained around 1500 permission to open this cemetery outside the agglomeration. From 1550 onwards, the Jews of the County of Hanau-Lichtenberg, especially those around Bouxwiller, also used it, although Ettendorf did not belong to it. The oldest known stele, dated 1566, marks the beginning of a long funerary history still active today.

The cemetery reflects the evolution of Jewish funeral practices in Alsace, with steles of all ages. Its listing in the historic monuments inventory in 1995 underscores its heritage importance. There remains a place of living memory, as evidenced by a ceremony in tribute to seven forgotten of the Second World War.

The architecture of the cemetery is marked by stone steles, some of which date back to the late 16th century. This particularity is explained by the local lifting of a medieval ban. The site is managed by the Ettendorf Cemetery Preservation Association, which works for its conservation and enhancement.

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