49°26' N 20°43' E, 194.9 miles S of Warszawa. Piwniczna-Zdrój (until 1999 Piwniczna) is a town in Nowy Sącz powiat, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, with 5,744 inhabitants in 2004. Gmina Piwniczna-Zdrój is an urban-rural administrative district in Nowy Sącz powiatthat also contains the villages and settlements of Głębokie, Kokuszka, Łomnica-Zdrój, Młodów, Wierchomla Mała, Wierchomla Wielka and Zubrzyk.
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Jews lived here since the mid-18th century or possibly in medieval times because Casimir the Great allowed the Jews to settle in this village as traders and craftsmen from Hungary. They built a small synagogue subject Nowy Sacz. In 1921, 226 Jews lived there. In the interwar period the town became a popular Jewish resort. In November 1942, the Jews were deported to the ghetto in Nowy Sacz and later to Belzec. [June 2009]
CEMETERY: Located in the vicinity of the Piwniczna-Zdrój train station across a pedestrian bridge over the Poprad railway along the track, the cemetery probably dates from the 19th century. In the interwar period, the tahara was built at the cemetery. Now, only a small, fenced area with a few gravestones remains. Destroyed during WWII when the Nazis stole the gravestones to construct roads, the post-war treatment was not much better. Forgotten and desecrated, the gravestones and cemetery became a loitering and drinking place and other carousing. Photos. [June 2009]US Commission No. POCE000753
Piwniczna is located in the region of Nowy Seis at 49º26N 20º42E, 30 km from Nowy Sojor, and 134 km from Krakow. The cemetery is located by the River Poprad near the Piwniczna-Zdroj railway station. Present town population is 1,000-5,000 with no Jews.
- Town: Piwniczna is Burmistrz (Mayor) Urzad Miasta I Gminy, Rynek 1, 33-350 Piwniczna, tel. #43.
- Regional: Wojewodzki Konserwator Zabytkow-mgr. ini Zygmint Lewerck, ul. Kilinokiego 68, 33-300 Nowy Sger, tel. 238-38 wew 234.
The earliest known Orthodox Jewish community in Piwniczna was before 1914. 1921 Jewish population was 226. The isolated urban flat land has no sign or marker. A continuous fence with no gate surrounds it. Reached by turning directly off a public road, access is open to all. The size of the cemetery before W.W.II was 0.04 hectares; it is the same size now. 1-20 gravestones in original position and less than 25% toppled or broken date from the 20th century. The sandstone finely smoothed and inscribed stones or flat stones with carved relief decorations have Hebrew inscriptions. The cemetery contains no known mass graves. Municipality owns site used as a Jewish cemetery. Properties adjacent are recreational. Private visitors occasionally visit. In the late 1980s, local/municipal authorities cleared vegetation and fixed wall. It is now occasionally cleared or cleaned. There are no structures. Moderate security threats are weather erosion and vegetation; and vandalism is a slight threat. Vegetation overgrowth is a constant problem, disturbing stones. Water drainage is a seasonal problem.
Piotr Antoniak, ul. Dobra 5 m 36, (see Bobowa) completed survey on September 9, 1992. The site was visited on August 8, 1992.