Alternate names: Nowy Korczyn [Pol], Novi-Kortchin, נובי קורצ'ין [Yid], Новы-Корчин [Rus], Ir Chadash [Heb], Kortshin, Kortshin Novi, Nowe Miasto Korczyn. 50°18' N, 20°49' E, 37 miles S of Kielce, 21 miles NNW of Tarnów. 1900 Jewish population: 2,781. Słownik Geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego (1880-1902), IV, pp. 395-396: "Korczyn" #1. Nowy Korczyn is a village in Busko County, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship in south-central Poland and the seat of the administrative district called Gmina Nowy Korczyn, 20 km (12 mi) S of Busko-Zdrój and 67 km (42 mi) S of the regional capital Kielce. The village near the confluence of the Nida and Vistula rivers had a population of 1,032. [June 2009]
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On the left bank of the Vistula River near the mouth of Nida, the former route from Krakow to Warsaw, the old large urban originally was a settlement before1258. Jews had a polychrome synagogue. Jewish population increase was probably in mid-16th century. Jews are recorded in 1564 as promising to give the pound of pepper. In 1566, only one Jewish house is recorded, but in 1585, a local Jewish school existed. Polish kings confirmed Jews' privileges to encourage their economic expertise. Especially after the flood we find this thread, when the recovery plans for urban life associated with their business operations. Permission to build a synagogue, to establish a cemetery, and to exercise religious practices freely were included with their economic privileges. Their economic activity that was competitive with the Christian townspeople in 1744 prompted them to petition Augusta II to banish Jews from the city. They complained to the Bishop of Cracow, who forbade fraternization. In a small town dominated by people who are Jewish, as opposed to the Christian population of trade and crafts the resentment continued until WWII. In the modern municipality, outside the cemetery and synagogue was the two-story, stone and shingle building that housed the school. The brick building sometimes housed the rabbi and contained the mikvah. The synagogue located in the northern part of the city on the river Nida near the village of Grotniki on Zamkowej Street. Formerly located near the royal palace, the original synagogue was large, but was rebuilt in 1724 with a wooden ceiling. On October 8,1855, the synagogue burned down, then the mikvah and a school. The buildings were rebuilt in 1855-1856 with renovation in 1894-1895. The west porch was added and a colonnade supporting the triangular pediment to give a monumental appearance. The walls had crown molding. The prayer hall ceiling covered with polychrome remains to this day. During safety work, in the 1970s, the polychrome was removed to outside until the work was complete. It was not.. The synagogue is in disrepair. [June 2009]
CEMETERY: Nothing remains of the Jewish cemetery likely existing since 1659. In 1761 the Jews received consent of the bishop of Krakow to build a fence. The cemetery probably was full in 1765. The bishop of Krakow allowed a new one in the Grotnik brick factory. A tahara was built. In 1935, the value of the two cemeteries was 6 000 PLN. During WWI, (1914), Germany removed the two cemeteries with the gravestones to construct trenches. After the war, fragments of the gravestones were used as flooring in the Franciscan church. Those were extracted and placed outside the church fully destroyed, illegible, and without evidence that they once were Jewish matzevot. Religious cemeteries closed in 1964. In the one currently in the city, are a number of institutions: a database Gminnej Cooperatives, furniture store, and factory for hollow blocks. The second cemetery is empty, but unidentifiable as a cemetery. Photos. [June 2009]NOWY KORCZYN (I): US Commission No. POCE000292
Nowy Korczyn is located in Kielce region at 50º17N 20º52E, about 75 km from Krakow. The address of the cemetery is ul. Grotnicka. Present town population is 1,000-5,000 with no Jews.
- Town: Urzad Gminy Nowy Kovczyu, 28-136, Nowy Korczyn, tel. 3.
- Regional: Wojewodzki Konserwator Zabyzthow, ul. 9, Wiekow Kielce, Kielce, tel. 45634.
The earliest known Jewish community was about 1564 (maybe 1569). 1921 Jewish population was 2,478, 67.3%. Effecting the Jewish community was May 26, 1659 confirmation by Jan Kazimierz of the privilege granted to the Jews. Saul Szmychowicz, an 18th Century rabbi, lived here. The Orthodox Jewish cemetery was established about 1554-1569. The last known Jewish burial was 1942. The isolated urban flat land has no sign or marker. No wall, fence, or gate surrounds. Reached by turning directly off a public road, access is open to all. The present size of the cemetery is 0.2 hectares. No gravestones are visible. The 20 to 100 stones are not in original position. Removed stones were incorporated into the church cloister. The cemetery contains no known mass graves. The municipality owns site used for storage. Properties adjacent are commercial and residential. Rarely, private Jewish visitors stop. The cemetery was vandalized during W.W.II, but not in the last ten years. No maintenance done. Very serious threat: storage-incompatible nearby commercial development (existing and planned). Serious: pollution and vandalism; moderate: security and water erosion; and a slight: vegetation.
Dr. Adam Penkalla, deceased, completed survey and visited the site. Documentation: his personal files.
NOWY KORCZYN (II): US Commission No. POCE000293
For town information, see Nowy Korczyn (I). The Orthodox (quartier Grotniki) site was established in 1765 with last known Jewish burial 1942. The isolated suburban flat land has no sign or marker. No wall, fence, or gate surrounds. Reached by turning directly off a public road, access is open to all. The present size of the cemetery is 0.5 hectares. No gravestones are visible OR 20 to 100 are not in original position with less than 25% toppled or broken. Removed stones were incorporated into the church cloister. The cemetery contains no known mass graves. The municipality owns site used for agriculture. Properties adjacent are agricultural and residential. Compared to 1939, the cemetery boundaries enclose a smaller areaas the result of agriculture. Rarely, private Jewish visitors stop. The cemetery was vandalized during W.W.II, but not in the last ten years. No maintenance done. There is a moderate pollution threat. Slight threats are security, weather erosion, and vegetation threats.
Dr. Adam Penkalla, deceased, visited site and completed survey. Documentation: his personal files.
BOOK: Gruber, Ruth Ellen. Jewish Heritage Travel A Guide to East-Central Europe. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1992. p. 77
[UPDATE] Photos by Charles Burns [March 2016]