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Origin and history

The Jewish cemetery of Frauenberg, located in the Moselle department in the Greater East region, originated in the first half of the 18th century. Located under the ruins of the castle of Frauenberg, on a hill, it was created around 1740 to meet the funeral needs of Jewish families in the Blies Valley. This place also welcomed the dead of Sarreguemines until the opening of a Jewish cemetery in that city in 1899. The successive enlargements, in 1840, 1869 and 1903, testify to its growing importance for local Jewish communities.

In 1753 several Jewish families were attested at Frauenberg. After Lorraine joined France, a royal decree of 1779 authorized 22 Jewish families to establish themselves there, thus consolidating the presence of an organized community. The cemetery, inscribed in historical monuments since 12 March 2013, reflects the evolution of Jewish funeral practices: the 18th century steles, simple and devoid of decoration, yield the place, in the 19th century, to more elaborate monuments, inspired by neo-classical styles. Epitaphs, exclusively in Hebrew, and dominant plant motifs illustrate the cultural and religious traditions of the time.

Today, the Frauenberg Cemetery, owned by a cult association, shows signs of advanced degradation: many tombstones have fallen or are threatening to fall. Despite this, there remains a valuable testimony to the history of the Jewish communities in Lorraine, marked by their gradual integration into the local landscape and their adaptation to the stylistic evolutions of the 19th and 20th centuries. The expansions of the site, particularly around 1903-1904, underline its central role until the creation of new regional cemeteries.

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