International Jewish Cemetery Project
International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies

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Coat of arms of Kiliya (Кілія)

Alternate names: Kiliya [Ukr, Rus], Chilia [Rom], Kiliye [Yid], Kilia [Pol], Kilya [Turk], Chilia Nouă, Chilia Nova, Kiliya Noua, Kilia Noue, Kilija, Kiliia. small city in the Odessa Oblast (province) of south-western Ukraine. It is the administrative center of Kiliya Raion (district), and is located in the Danube Delta, in the Bessarabian historic district of Budjak. The Chilia branch of the Danube river, which separates Ukraine from Romania, is named after Kiliya. A town on the Romanian side of the Chilia branch of the Danube, known as Chilia Veche (Ukrainian: Cтapa Кілія, translit. Stara Kiliya) or "Older Chilia", was founded by the Byzantines - κελλίa, kellia being the equivalent of "granaries", a name first recorded in 1241, Wikipedia. 45°27' N, 29°16' E, 22 miles ENE of Izmayil, on the border with Romania. 1900 Jewish population: 2,153.

CEMETERY:

  • US Commission No. UA15060101

Alternate names: Kilija (Yiddish), Chilia Noua (Russian) and Chilia Nova (Ukraine). Kiliya is located in Odesskaya at 45º27 29º16, 45 km from Izmail and 163 km from Odessa. The cemetery is located at Mayaki Street. 95. Present town population is 5,001-25,000 with 11-100 Jews.
The earliest known Jewish community was 1800. 1939 Jewish population (census) was 1,969. The Jewish cemetery was established in 1875 with last known Hasidic burial in 1994. No other towns or villages used this unlandmarked cemetery. The isolated urban crown of a hill has no sign or marker. Reached by turning directly off a private road and other, access is open to all. No wall, fence or locking gate surrounds the cemetery. There is a non-locking gate. 501 to 5000 stones, most in original location with between 25%-50% toppled or broken, date from 1875 to 20th century. Location of any removed tombstones is unknown. The cemetery has no special sections. Some tombstones have traces of painting on their surfaces, iron decorations or lettering, other metallic elements, portraits on stones, and/or metal fences around graves. The cemetery contains marked mass graves. The municipality owns the site used for Jewish cemetery only. Adjacent properties are agricultural and residential. The cemetery boundaries are unchanged since 1939. The cemetery is visited frequently by local residents. The cemetery was vandalized during World War II and between 1945 and 1981. Jewish individuals within country and abroad did re-erection of stones, patched broken stones, cleaned stones, cleared vegetation and fixed gate in 1946-1994. Now, occasionally, individuals clean or clear. Within the limits of the cemetery is a pre-burial house. Vegetation overgrowth is a seasonal problem, preventing access. Moderate threat: uncontrolled access, vegetation and vandalism. Slight threat: pollution.
Oks Vladimir Moiseevich of 270065,Odessa, Varnenskaya Street. 17D, Apt. 52 [Phone: (0482) 665950] visited site and completed survey on 9/2/94. Interviewed on 9/2/94were Kalyakov A.N. and Rabinovich L.U. of Kiliya. Other documentation exists but was inaccessible.