Alternate names: Sępólno Krajeńskie [Pol], Zempelburg [Ger], Sępolno, Sępólno Kraińskie, Kraińskie, Cembelburg. 53°27' N, 17°32' E, 28 miles NW of Bydgoszcz (Bromberg). 1900 Jewish population: 1,218 (in 1853), 183 (in 1921). Słownik Geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego (1880-1902), X, pp. 470-472: "Sępólno". Powait Zlotow. Sępólno Krajeńskie is a town in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship and the capital of Sępólno County (powiat sępoleński) with a 2004 population of 9,174. [June 2009]
CEMETERY: Established in the second half of the 19th century on Jeziorna Street NW of the city center near the lake, the 2.5 hectare site is shaped as a trapezoid. In 1931, the cemetery land was valued at 20,000 zlotys. The Nazis destroyed cemetery during WWII leaving fragments of grave foundations and matzevot in a partly wooded and neglected location. [June 2009]
US Commission No. POCE000607
Alternate Yiddish name: Zempelburg. Cemetery: on the N side of town. The town is in Bydgoskie, Krajna. The town is located at 18 32' º53 27', 31 km from Chojnice. Present town population is 5,000-25,000 with no Jews.
- Local: local administration of commune council and a town in Sepolno Kraj.
- Regional: mgr. Olga Romanowska-Grabowska, Panstwowa Sluzba Ochrony Zabytkow.
The earliest known Jewish community is 1783. 1885 Jewish population in the administrative district of Sepolno was 793. The unlandmarked Jewish cemetery was established in the second half of the 19th century. The isolated suburban hillside by water has no sign or marker. Reached by turning directly off a public road, access is open to all with no gate. The size of the cemetery is 2.5 ha now as before WWII. 2 flat-shaped terrazzo stones remaining gravestones date from the 19th century. There are no known mass graves. The municipality owns the property used for recreation. Adjacent property is agricultural. The cemetery is visited rarely. It was vandalized during World War II. No care or structures. Vegetation is a seasonal problem, preventing access. Weather erosion is a moderate threat. Security and pollution are a slight threat.
Magdalena Grabowska, Bydgoszcz ul, completed this survey. Sanatoryjna 40, tel. 277335 on 30 Oct. 1992, using the 1988 WKZ Bgoszcz cemetery card. The site was not visited.
Photos courtesy This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and Vicki Israel [June 2012]
[Note from Evelyn Frybort and Vicki Israel: According to our Guide, the stone in photo #18 could be the only piece of the Jewish stone that once was with many other Jewish stones in Sempolno Krajenskie. It serves an evidence to what was in there earlier and hence its importance.]
