The Old Jewish Cemetery
The Old Jewish Cemetery, which is located in Kovačići, is
one of the largest Jewish sacral complexes in Europe.
The cemetery was founded in 1630, and its oldest preserved
tombstones mark the graves of the first rabbi of Sarajevo, Samuel Baruch, and
his contemporary, Machah Mučačon.
What makes this cemetery unique the world over is that the
shape and motifs of the tombstones very closely resemble the medieval Bosnian
stećci. This is due to the fact that the cemetery was founded in the vicinity
of the medieval necropolis in Borak, where many stećci used to stand.
On the highest point of the cemetery grounds there is a white pyramid, a monument dedicated to the Jews who fell fighting during World War II and the victims of Fascism who perished in concentration camps.
