Rabbi Baron writes public letter to the Mayor and City Council of Vilna regarding the protection and restoration of the Vilna Shnipishok cemetery. The letter was in response to a recent worrying announcement by the Vilna municipality as to the future of the cemetery.
Honorable Valdas Benkunskas
Mayor of Vilnius
While the municipality's initiative to mark the borders of the Šnipiškių, in the Jewish world also known as Piramont cemetery, is a positive step, it’s concerning that a significant portion of the cemetery will fall outside these newly defined boundaries.
Furthermore, the official statement by the Vilnius city municipality, dated May 9, 2025, "…in the 19th century the cemetery was officially closed and most of the remains were reburied," is inaccurate and confusing. To clarify the historical details:
- The Jewish cemetery was closed in 1831.
- This closure occurred under the same circumstances and against the will of the Jews and the Vilnius Jewish community, similar to the closure of Vilnius University.
- No reburials took place at that time.
In the summer and autumn of 2002, construction work for the King Mindaugas Bridge at the intersection of Rinktinės and Olimpiečių streets unearthed burials from the cemetery site. In an act of civilization and humanity, the Jewish community collected the discovered human remains, totaling approximately 700 individuals, and reinterred them in the Jewish cemetery on Sudervės Street to prevent their desecration.
It is crucial to understand that these remains were uncovered from a small, peripheral section of the original cemetery and that this reburial in 2002 is entirely separate from the cemetery’s closure in 1831. The remains were moved not for the sake of relocation itself, but to protect them from desecration and destruction by construction equipment.
Respect for the deceased, the protection of their remains and burial sites, and cemeteries from destruction is a guarantee of the continuity of civilization and the preservation of humanity at all times.
The Vilnius Šnipiškės Jewish Cemetery is an integral part of the history of Vilnius, the capital of the Republic of Lithuania. It is a pity that we do not always know how to understand and appreciate this.
We at Jewish Heritage in Lita, representing hundreds of thousands of Jews who identify with Lithuanian Jewish Heritage, appreciate the municipality’s ongoing efforts to care for both historic Jewish cemeteries in Vilnius: in Šnipiškės, and Užupis.
We believe that the only feasible and meaningful solution would be the full restoration of the Piramont cemetery and the proper commemoration of all burials within its historical boundaries.
Rabbi Elchonon Baron
President
Julius Norvila
Vilna Representative
