Alternate names: Biskupice [Pol], Biskopitza [Yid], Biskupice Lubelskie, ביסקופיצה-Hebrew. 30 places in Poland are named 'Biskupice'.  This one is at 51°08' N 22°57' E,  24 miles W of Chełm, 18 miles ESE of Lublin, and 2 miles W of Trawniki. 1900 Jewish population: 543. [April 2009]

CEMETERY: Located on Grodzisku in the valley Giełczwi on its right edge and a dump surrounded by a moat filled with water making it quite well protected. The Orthodox cemetery dates from the last half of the 18th century with the last funeral  in 1942. The oldest preserved tombstone is from 1792. Some claim there were two cemeteries adjacent to one another. Only two gravestones with an ohel gone, just 300 m from the market. cemetery photos. cemetery photos. [April 2009]

BISKUPICE I:
REFERENCE: They Lived Among Us: Polish Judaica , a travel brochure: Arline Sachs, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it extracted names of townstaht supposedly having Jewish cemeteries. These generally have names only; sometimes a description of famous people who lived there, but no page number.)
Source: Gruber, Ruth Ellen. Jewish Heritage Travel A Guide to East-Central Europe . New York: John Wiley &Sons, Inc., 1992. P 74

US Commission No. POCE000176
Located in Lublin province at 51°09 22°57, 35 km from Lublin, 37 km from Chelm, and 10 km from Piaski. The old cemetery, adjacent to the new one, is 300 m W of the market square and approached through ulica Mila. 1991town population: 1,000-5,000 with no Jews.

• Town: Soltys Biskupic, Urzad Gminy Trawniki, tel. 42.
  
• Regional: Wojewodzki Konserwator Zabytkow, mgr. H. Landecka, Lublin, Pl. Litewski 1, tel. 290-35.
  

The earliest known Jewish community was 18th century. The 1921 Jewish population was 129 (14.6%.) The cemetery was established in the mid-18th century with last known Orthodox Jewish burial in 19th/20th century. The cemetery is land-marked: Official Register of Monuments A/1004 bv 1990. The suburban crown of a hill, separate but near other cemeteries, has no sign. Reached by turning directly off a public road, access is open to all with no wall, fence, or gate. Size of cemetery before and after WWII is 0.4 hectares. 21 matserot and their bases are in cemetery, all in original location with none toppled or broken. The 1792 to 19th century granite and dolomite tombstones and memorial markers are rough stones or boulders or flat stones have Hebrew inscriptions. Somehave traces of painting on their surfaces. The cemetery contains no known mass graves or structures. Now used for animal grazing, property ownership is unknown. Properties adjacent are agricultural. Rarely, organized private visitors visit. The cemetery was vandalized after WWII and now occasionally. No care or maintenance. Security is a serious threat; and vandalism is moderate (used as a children/youth playground). Probably town inhabitants steal matserot. Incompatible nearby development is a slight threat.

Pawel Sygowski, ulica Kalinowszczyzna 64/59, 20-201 Lublin, tel. 77-20-78 completed survey. He and Andrzej Trzcinski visited the site in November 1991 and conducted no interviews.

BISKUPICE II:   US Commission No. POCE000177

Location: adjacent to the old one (see above for other town and history information.) The new cemetery was established at the end of the 19th century or beginning of the 20th century. Once, there was an ohel of an unnamed rabbi in cemetery. Date of the last known Orthodox Jewish burial was 1942. The cemetery is land-marked: Official Register of Monuments a/1004 bv 1990. The suburban flat land, separate but near other cemeteries, has no sign. Reached by turning directly off a public road, access is open to all with no wall, fence, or gate. Size of cemetery before and after WWII is 0.3 hectares. 2 matserot are in cemetery, the oldest from 1929. The sandstone flat stones with carved relief decoration have Hebrew inscriptions. No known mass graves. Within the limits of the cemetery is or was an ohel. Because the cemetery is not fenced and is plowed, the 1929 gravestone was knocked down. The sandstone matserot could be taken away [stolen]. The cemetery contains no mass graves. Now used for animal grazing, the owner is unknown. Properties adjacent are agricultural. Rarely, organized private visitors stop. The cemetery was vandalized after WWII and now occasionally. No care. Security is a serious threat. Vandalism is a moderate threat.

Pawel Sygowski, ulica Kalinowszczyzna 64/59, 20-201 Lublin, tel. 77-20-78 completed survey. He and Andrzej Trzcinski visited the site in November 1991.

UPDATE: Cemetery photos at http://www.kirkuty.xip.pl/biskupice.html [January 2006]