According to the town records, the cemetery was founded in 1862 and was located directly in the town on the hill.In the past, it was also used by smaller Jewish communities from the surrounding area, for example from Francovice, Kračunovce or Železník. The last burial took place in 1942. There are approximately one hundred standing, whitewashed and broken tombstones, mostly made of sandstone and granite. The inscriptions are in Hebrew, and symbols such as the mourning willow. Several members of the Lichtenstein and Lustzig families, who contributed to the development of industry in the town, are buried in the cemetery. In 2007, thanks to the cultural event Days of Jewish Culture in Giraltovce, which was to commemorate the 65th anniversary of the first transport of Jews, the restoration of the whitewashed tombstones began, and the cemetery was put in a commendable condition. The cemetery was taken care of by the local authority with the help of volunteers (Šišjaková, Šmigeľ, 2009). In 2008, a memorial to the victims of the Holocaust was erected in the cemetery, designed by architect Milan Veselý. The memorial bears the names of all the Jewish families who lived in Giraltovce until 1942, as well as an inscription in Hebrew „We do not forget“.
Jews came to the town from Halych. They were not only peasants, but gradually, above all, craftsmen and merchants. In many areas they had a virtual monopoly. For example, according to the 1842 census, they owned as many as eight of the nine taverns in Giralt. But for example also the mill. And now that I mention it, there was one steam mill here for the whole 20th century. There was also a power station in it. It's a pity it was demolished. There's only one street named after it.
There was also a synagogue in Giraltovce. Unfortunately, it was also demolished. The Jews built it at the turn of the 19th and 20th century. An important place in the town was also a bath called mikveh. Since the water in it was supposed to come from a spring or a river, it was built on the right bank of the Radomka river. On Friday evening, when the first star rose in the sky, the Sabbath was symbolically celebrated. At that time the men cleaned themselves in the bath and changed into clean linen. Women, in turn, attended it after menstruation.
Source.
Photo: town Giraltovce
