53°48' N 21°35' E, 109.7 miles NNE of Warszawa. Nikolaiken [Ger] This town in Mrągowo powiat in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship in NE Poland with 3,849 inhabitants. The village Zełwągi belongs to Mikołajki. The town is located near Śniardwy, the largest lake of the Masurian Lake District. Because of its location on the lake, the fishery was successful for its whitefish popular throughout East Prussia. Little is known of the Jewish Community in Mikołajki. The first mention of Jews in this area comes from 1820 when about ten German-Jewish families dealt in weaving and tailoring. During Kristallnacht in 1938 the Nazis removed all the Jewish families. Their fate is unknown; none ever returned to the city. [June 2009]
CEMETERY: The cemetery established in 1881 and located on ul. Dybowskiej has a few dozen matzevot in Hebrew and German. In 2006, Mikołajki Heritage Protection Foundation cleaned the Jewish cemetery area. Members of the Church Pentecostal Church in Mikołajki take care of the cemetery. photo. [June 2009]
US Commission No: AS 155
(Alternate name: Nikolaiken in German) Mikolajki is located in Suwalskie at 53º48 21º35, 26 km from Mragowo. Cemetery location: ul. Dybowska. Present town population is 1,000-5,000 without Jews.
- Town: Edmund Puzio, burmistrz, Urzad Miasta i Gminy w Mikolajkach, 11-730 Mikolajki, ul. Kolejowa 7, tel. 16361.
- Regional: Stanislaw Tumidajewicz, Wojewodzki Konserwator Zabytkow 16-400 Suwalki, ul. Kosciuszki 7, tel. 663741.
Earliest known Jewish community was mid-19th century. Landmark: Rej. Zabytkow region Suwalskiego- A 882, WKZ 534/882/d/91 z 22 Nov 1991. The isolated urban flat land has a sign or plaque in Polish that mentions Jews. Reached by turning directly off a public road, access is open to all with a fence with locking gate. The size of the cemetery before WWII and now is 0.05 hectares. 20-100 gravestones in the cemetery, all in original locations with more than 75% toppled or broken, date 1881-20th century. The granite and sandstone with bronze decorations or lettering and other metallic elements have Hebrew and German inscriptions. No known mass graves. The municipality owns property used for Jewish cemetery only. Properties adjacent are commercial/industrial and residential. Occasionally, private visitors stop. Local authorities cleared vegetation in 1993 and occasionally since. There are no structures. Vegetation is a moderate threat.
Dr. Janusz Mackiewicz, 16-400 Suwalki, ul. 1 Maja 27a/47, tel.d. 663756, tel.sl. 663741 completed survey 26 Sept 1994.
BOOK: Author: Lewin, Isaac, collector. Title: Lewin collection, [ca. 1200]-1942, [ca. 1700]-1942 (bulk) Description: ca. 22.5 linear ft. Notes: Contains variety of records of Jewish communities in Central and Eastern Europe especially in Posen, Silesia and other German-speaking areas, including pinkasim (record books) of communities and societies, memorial books with lists of deaths, ..., cemetery registers, society statutes, synagogue seat records, and other documents of communities at ... Nikolai (Mikolow, Poland), ca. 1849-1898; ... . Location: Yeshiva University. Special Collections. Rare Books and Manuscripts, New York, NY. Control No.: NYYH88-A76 [December 2000]