Jewish Cemetery of Oirschot

From around 1750, several Jewish families lived in Oirschot. They formed a small community that practiced various trades in the town center, such as butchery.

The group gradually grew, and the need arose for its own cemetery. This cemetery dates from around 1800. It seems far from the old town center, but a Jewish cemetery was always located outside the walls of a town or village, as a cemetery was considered unclean.

The Jewish community of Oirschot also acquired a synagogue in 1842, in the Rijkesluisstraat.

There are still nine gravestones in this cemetery, eight of which are national monuments. Most have Hebrew inscriptions, some supplemented with Dutch. The Jewish calendar is sometimes used. The Christian year 0 in that calendar is the year 3760. The cemetery was in use until 1940 at the latest. Some recurring names are Docters, Levis, de Winter, and Koppens. Unfortunately, some of the gravestones have been damaged. There is also a small stone marker, an anonymous grave marker. More people, whose gravestones no longer exist, are likely to be buried there, 

In the 20th century, the number of Jewish residents in Oirschot decreased so much that the Jewish community merged with that of Eindhoven. The synagogue was  closed and later demolished.