Beth Haim of Ouderkerk aan de Amstel

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Beth Haim
בית חיים
Graftekens op begraafplaats - Ouderkerk aan de Amstel - 20409546 - RCE.jpg
Grave markers in the cemetery's southwestern corner, facing Ouderkerk's historic drawbridge over the Bullewijk branch of the Amstel, 2005
Beth Haim of Ouderkerk aan de Amstel
Interactive map of Beth Haim
Details
Established1614;411 years ago (1614)
Location
Ouderkerk aan de Amstel
CountryNetherlands
Coordinates 52°17′43″N4°54′15″E / 52.29528°N 4.90417°E / 52.29528; 4.90417
Type Jewish
Size4 hectares (9.9 acres)
No. of interments28,000+
Website www.bethhaim.nl
Designated15 December 1970
Reference no. 31967

The Beth Haim of Ouderkerk aan de Amstel [a] is the oldest Jewish cemetery in the Netherlands. [2]

Contents

History

Jewish Cemetery, outside Amsterdam, c. 1670 etching print Abraham Blooteling after Jacob van Ruisdael, Begraef-plaets der Joden, buyten Amsteldam (Jewish Cemetery outside Amsterdam), 1670, NGA 109791.jpg
Jewish Cemetery, outside Amsterdam, c. 1670 etching print

The land was purchased in 1614 by the Jewish community of Amsterdam for use as a burial ground. It is situated in the village of Ouderkerk aan de Amstel, in the rural outskirts south of Amsterdam. [3]

The Jewish population of Amsterdam in the early modern period consisted largely of Sephardic Jews from the Iberian Peninsula, many of whom had fled persecution in Spain and Portugal. [4]

Facilities

Monuments

In addition to its age, the cemetery is notable for several features. Many of its tombstones bear inscriptions in Portuguese, Dutch, and Hebrew. Unusually for a Jewish cemetery, a significant number of the stones also display sculptural reliefs, including representations of human figures.

Visitation

The cemetery is open to visitors and is free of charge.

Notable burials

Famous people buried at the Beth Haim include:

Grave of Menasseh Ben Israel Menasseh T.JPG
Grave of Menasseh Ben Israel

In culture

The Jewish Cemetery, one of the paintings by Jacob van Ruisdael Jacob Isaackszoon van Ruisdael - The Jewish Cemetery (1654 or 1655).jpg
The Jewish Cemetery , one of the paintings by Jacob van Ruisdael

Two paintings by Jacob van Ruisdael were inspired by Beth Haim. Although the paintings are usually called in English "The Jewish Cemetery at Ouderkerk", the artist felt free to add picturesque elements, and they therefore do not closely resemble the actual location.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Over Beth Haim". www.bethhaim.nl (in Dutch). Beth Haim. Retrieved 11 April 2025.
  2. ↑ L. Alvarez Vega, The Beth Haim of Ouderkerk aan de Amstel, 1994
  3. ↑ Beth Haim at Ouderkerk Archived May 16, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  4. ↑ Steven M. Nadler, Rembrandt's Jews, University of Chicago Press, ISBN   0226567362, p.187-190 (link on line)
  5. ↑ García-Arenal, Mercedes; Wiegers, Gerard (2007). A Man of Three Worlds: Samuel Pallache, a Moroccan Jew in Catholic and Protestant Europe. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN   978-0-8018-9583-8.
  6. ↑ "Palache, Samuel". Amstel: Dutch Jewry. Archived from the original on 15 September 2016. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
  7. ↑ "Haham Joseph PARDO". 1999. Retrieved 1 Oct 2015.
  8. ↑ "Rabbi/Haham David 'Joseph' PARDO". 1999. Retrieved 26 June 2014.
  9. ↑ "Hazan Joseph 'David' PARDO". 1999. Retrieved 1 Oct 2015.

Notes

  1. ↑ Beth Haim, meaning House of Life [1] in translation, is a transliteration of the Hebrew words: בית חיים (Hebrew is read leftwardly: from right to left)
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