Alternate names: Orneta [Pol], Wormditt [Ger], Wurmedyten, Wormedythin. 54°07' N, 20°08' E, 61 miles ESE of Gdańsk (Danzig), 31 miles E of Elbląg, 18 miles W of Lidzbark Warmiński (Heilsberg). Jewish population: 109 (in 1905). Słownik Geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego (1880-1902), VII, pp. 594-595: "Orneta". A town in Lidzbark powiat, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship in N Poland with a 2007 population of 9,859. [June 2009]
US Commission No. POCE000763
Alternate name: Wormditt in German. Orneta is located in region Elblyskie/ Elblag [sic Elblag, Elblgg, Elblyg or Elblerg] at 54º07 20º08, 101 km E of Gdansk. The cemetery is located on ul. Piaskowa. Present town population is 5000-25000 with no Jews.
- Town: Urzad Miasta i Gminy, ul. Mickiecnicza tel.116; Urzad region w Elblagu, ul. Wojska Polskiego 1, tel. 27001. Panstwowa Sluzba Ochrony Zabytkow Elblyg ul. Wojska Polskiego 1, tel. 24-553.
The earliest known Jewish community was 1800's. Noteworthy events included Judenedikt of 1812. The Orthodox 1806 cemetery was 0.20 hectare, on isolated suburban flat land. Access off a public road is open to all with a broken masonry wall. 20-100 gravestones are not in original locations. The municipality owns site used for agriculture. Properties adjacent are agricultural and residential. Rarely, local residents visit. The cemetery was vandalized during World War II. It was liquidated and used for animal grazing and partly as a barren.
Wiktor Knercer, 10-685, Olsztyn, ul. Barcza 33/16, tel. 33-86-07 visited the site June 1992 and completed survey Sept. 1992. Documentation: maps in the scale of 1:25000 from 1910-1920, Deutches Stadtbuch, Erich Renner 1939 and Aloys Sommerfeld, Juden im Ermland, in ZSAE. [sic] z.10.