Gorizia - the divided city

	The Jewish cemetery on the Slovenian side of Gorizia

Gorizia is a city literally divided between Italy and Slovenia.

At the dead end of a small street we saw a sign warning that it was illegal to cross the border except during business hours when the border inspector office is open. The city would ahve been vaguely reminiscient of Berlin ten years ago if it hadn't been for the tram that went exactly on the border. If we really wanted to we could simply have walked calmly over to the other side - there is no wall or even any real fence.

Gorizia is situated in a delightful valley at the foot of the Julian Alps on the Slovenian border. The city's name is derived from the Slovenian word "gorica" that means "small mountain." The name refers the small hill from which the beautiful Borgo Castello castle overlooks the city. The Borgo is today a popular museum with medieval artifacts, paintings, suits of armor, weapons and even an original dungeon.

Gorizia is a city of less than 40,000 people. The old Jewish ghetto is located in the downtown Via Ascoli section of the old city. The synagogue, a large yellow building, was first inaugurated in 1756 and was was remodeled in the 1980s. The there has been a Jewish presence in the city since the 13th or 14th century, the community never counted more than 350 souls. Gorizia's last Jews were deported to Auschwitz on November 23, 1943.

Across the border in Slovenia, in what is today called Rozna Dolina or Valdirose (Rose Valley), is the old Jewish cemetery. It is on the right side of the road a few hundred meters after the crossing. There are some 900 tombstones in the cemetery, the oldest dating from 1406 and the latest from World War II. There is also a Holocaust memorial located here.

The cemetery is set in a beautiful location, a low-lying spot with green, gently wooded hills in the background, separated by a little stream from the Ceremonial Hall built in 1928. The building was virtually condemned after World War II and given by the Jewish community of (Italian) Gorizia to the municipality of Nova Gorica in 1977 in return for guarantees that they would maintain and care for the cemetery. The hall, which was left a shell after the war, was restored in the late 1980s and is today rented out as a cafe.

The most famous person buried in the cemetery is Carlo Michelstaedter, a philosopher, poet and painter born in 1887 who committed suicide in 1910. His posthumously-published works are important precursors of existentialism. Michelstaedter's grave is marked by a simple upright stone bearing just his name and dates of birth and death.

Related links:
Gorizia by the Preservation Commission - Jewish Heritage Research Center
Gorizia and surrounding places of interest
From Cordovado to Gorizia

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