Popowo Kościelne, Popowo. 52°32' N 21°11' E, 21.0 miles NNE of Warszawa. This village in the administrative district of Gmina Mieścisko in Wągrowiec powiat, Greater Poland Voivodeship in west-central Poland. The first synagogue was built probably in the 17th century. The 109 members of the Popowo Kościelne Jewish community were deported to the ghetto in Makowie Mazowiecki. The landmarked 0.5 ha Jewish cemetery on a small hill near the Roman-Catholic cemetery dates from the 19th century and also served Jews from Pultusk. The oldest matzevah dates from 1825. Ten granite gravestones are visible above the overgrowth. overhead view. [June 2009]
parish SOMIANKA
US Commission No. POCE00042
Popowo Koscielne is located in the Ostroleckie region at 52º33 21º15, 22 km from Wyszkow, 10 km from Serock, 21 km from Pultusk, and 52 km from Warszawa. Present town population is under 1,000 with no Jews.
- Town: Jaroslaw Kalinowski-Wojt, Urzad Gminy, 07-203 Somianka, tel. 18-83.
- Regional: Ewa Kawalek-Wojewodzki Konserwator Zabytkow, Panstwowa Sluzba Ochrony Zabytkow, 001012, Wojewodzki w Ostrolece, ul. Pilsudskiego, 38 07-400 Ostroleka, tel. 66-829.
The Orthodox, Conservative, and Progressive/Reform Jewish cemetery was established in the 19th century. The rural hillside, separate but near other cemeteries, has no sign or marker, no wall, gate, or fence. Reached by turning directly off a public road, access is open to all. The size of the cemetery before W.W.II was 0.5 hectares; it is the same size now. 1 to 20 gravestones, all in original location and less than 25% of toppled or broken, date from the 19th- 20th centuries. The granite and sandstone from rough stones/boulders, flat shaped finely smoothed and inscribed stones have Hebrew inscriptions and Yiddish. The cemetery contains no known mass graves. Municipality owns site used as a Jewish cemetery. Properties adjacent are agricultural. Compared to 1939, the cemetery boundaries enclose the same area. Occasionally, private Jewish and non-Jewish visitors and local residents visit. The cemetery was vandalized during W.W.II, but not in the last ten years. No maintenance. Vandalism was a serious threat (destroyed during W.W.II.) Weather erosion is a moderate threat. Vegetation is a seasonal problem preventing access.
Wojciech Henrykowski, 06-200 Makow Maz, ul. Spoldzielcza 20 completed survey. Documentation: collection of Panstwowa Sluzba Ochrony Zabytkow w Ostrolcie, Burchard Pamiathi i Zabythi Kultuny Zyolowkiej w Polsce, Warszawa 1990. Site was not visited.