Old Jewish Cemetaries Tour in Latvia

Burial traditions are important for every nation and are rooted deep in the past. However, they are also havens of peace through which and visiting new tourist destinations are introduced. Beautiful landscapes on the banks of rivers and agricultural lands on the way. Forests - Latvia's forests occupy 40% of Latvia's land and countryside. Jaunjelgava - Jēkabpils - Gostiņi towns are not popular tourism destinations, but historical and specially for Jews remarcable. This tour is recommended not only for Jews whose relatives are probably buried in southern and eastern Latvia. This is great day out with new discoveries. Let's visit!

We will go out of Riga to the east of Latvia along the left bank of the Daugava River. The firsts top in Jaunjelgava town. The Jewish inhabitants of Jaunjelgava also called it "New Riga" or Nairi. In 1881, of the town's 5,820 inhabitants, 71% (4,128) were Jews. In WWII Nazi did they dirty job killed Jews and the first years after the war started. The next stop is Jekabpils town where in 1941 at the beginning of July, arrested by Nazi Jews was placed two guarded synagogues and later sent to Kūki Marsh where finally was shot by the Latvian SD unit ("Arāja team") that arrived from Riga. Gostini Old Jewish cemetery, with 160 tombs, is located in the middle of forest. Here in the autumn of 1941 Nazis killed fourteen Jewish children of Gostiņi. Their remains were discovered only in 2005, when restoration work was done in the Cemetery. On the way back stopower at Rumbula Memorial. In Rumbula forest near Riga in two days on the 30th of November and the 8th of December of 1941, more than 25,000 people were killed.