Description
Salake has long been home to a large Jewish community. According to the 1897 Russian Empire census, 686 Catholics and 1,582 Jews lived here; they had their own school, synagogues, and a cemetery on the northeastern outskirts of the town of Salakas, in the Alaunė Woods. The site for the cemetery was chosen in accordance with Jewish burial customs, so that the cemetery would be on a hill or on its slope, separated from the settlement by a river or lake, and at least 50 cubits (25 meters) from the nearest house, with burials oriented toward Jerusalem. The old Jewish cemetery in Salakas contains about 570 headstones dating from the late 19th century to the early 20th century (the dates on the headstones range from 1885 and 1941). On the outside, the cemetery is surrounded by a ditch, beyond which lies an embankment, and remnants of a stone masonry fence remain. The cemetery is listed in the Register of Cultural Heritage Sites and is protected by the state.
