Alternate names: Ropczyce [Pol], Ropshits, רופשיץ [Yid], Ropchitse, Ropshitz. 50°03' N, 21°37' E, 17 miles W of Rzeszów.. 1900 Jewish population: 1,054. Yizkors: Hayo hayta Ayara Ropczyce (Israel, 1985) and Pinkas ha-kehilot; entsiklopediya shel ha-yishuvim le-min hivasdam ve-ad le-aher shoat milhemet ha-olam ha-sheniya: Poland vol. 3: Western Galicia and Silesia (Jerusalem, 1984). This town in Subcarpathian Voivodeship in SE Poland in the Valley the Wielopolka River (a tributary of the Wisłoka River) with a 2009 population of 15,098 and is the seat of Ropczyce-Sędziszów powiat. The earliest documention of Jews settling in Ropczyce dates from 1564 with four Jewish families (30 people) living on the farm of the Gryf family. In 1604, King Sigismund III Vasa granted Ropczyce with a law permitting only two Jewish families (a district leaseholder and a tax collector) to live in the town, strictly forbidden to sell or produce alcohol. In 1675, the Town Council broke that law and allowed Józef Szmul to acquire a house at the Market Square that he was required to renovate In exchange for exemption from paying taxes for two years. At the end of the 18th century, Ropczyce became a significant Chassidic center after Zvi Naftali Horowitz (1760-1827) settled in the town.  photos. video.  [June 2009]

Shtetlink [November 2002]

US Commission No. POCE000502

Alternate Yiddish name: Ropshitz. Ropszyce is in Rzenow region at 50º03E 21º37N, 30 km. W of Rzenow. Cemetery: Monte Cassino Street. Present population is 5,000-25,000 with no Jews.

• Local: Urzad Miasti I Gminy, 39-100 Ropczyce, ul. 3 Maja 1, tel. 18611.
  
• Regional: Wojewodzki Konserwator Zabytkow Rzenow, Michiewicza Street 15.
  
• Caretaker with key: Mrs. Kazimiere Rusin, ul. Monte Cassino 32, 39-106 Ropczyce.

The earliest known Jewish community was 19th century. 1939 Jewish population was about 1,500. The cemetery was established 18th century. Naftali Lewi lived here. The last Orthodox Jewish burial was during WWII. Witkowice and Lubzine used this unlandmarked cemetery, about 1 km away. The isolated suburban hillside has a sign in Polish and a Star of David on gate or wall. The sign mentions the cemetery date. Reached by turning directly off a public road, access is open with permission. The cemetery has a continuous fence and a locking gate. The pre-and post-WWII size is 1,000 sq. meters. One stone is visible but not in original location. One 20th century limestone or sandstone sculpted monument inscribed in Polish is visible. The missing stones were incorporated into roads or structures. The cemetery contains special memorial monuments to Holocaust victims as well as unmarked mass graves. The municipality owns property used for Jewish cemetery only. Adjacent property is agricultural and residential. Occasionally, private visitors and organized Jewish group tours or pilgrimage groups visit. It was vandalized during World War II but not in the last ten years. Local non-Jewish residents, local/municipal authorities, and Jewish individuals abroad cleared vegetation, fixed wall, and fixed gate in 1988. Occasional clearing and cleaning by individuals is current care. The caretaker is not paid. Within the limits of the cemetery is a fence around the rabbi's tombstone. Vegetation is a slight threat-a seasonal problem, preventing access.

Natascha Rhode, 35-213 Reznow, ul. Starynskiego 5/29 completed survey in June 1992, interviewing "P. Bulchards Zabythi Kultury Zydowskiej". She visited in June 1992 and interviewed Mrs. Kazimiere Rusin, ul. Monte Cassino 32, 39-106 Ropczyce.