51°20′0″N 7°52′0″E, 249.3 miles WSW of Berlin. Balve is a town in the Märkischer Kreis district in Hönnetal, a narrow valley created by the river Hönne, which is near the Sorpesee, formerly part of Balve, and at the north end of the Sauerland, near Dortmund. The town was established in 1975 with several divisions including Balve, Beckum, and Eisborn. The many caves in the Hönnetal include the Balver Höhle at Helle, a large cave used for cultural events such as concerts, stage acting and an annual 's festival, and the Reckenhöhle, a cave 1,478 ft in length that has flowstone. The only surviging 18th-century blast furnace that is still in workable condition situated close to the 14th-century castle Schloss Wocklum. A predecessor cemetery was opened in 1718; its location is unknown.
58802 North Rhine-Westphalia (Gerz)
The cemetery is small, possibly 50 ft x 40 ft. Located on a slope in Dechant-Amecke-Weg, near the hospital and fairly close to the main street (Hauptstr). One enters from a road that is below the level of the cemetery. From memory, the main Balve cemetery is completely separate from the Jewish cemetery. Graves are aligned east/west, facing east. Trees, both large and small, and a rather new 1-meter high wooden lattice fence with non-locking gate, surround this small cemetery. Only 5 gravestones remain. A wrought-iron fence surrounds two of those, side by side. One inscription is barely decipherable, the one beside it in slightly better condition. From the list of burials, the first is the grave of Johanna Schuler, born Cohn; the other is that of Helena Cohn Schuler. The other 3 gravestones were located in the last row backing up to the street. Of those, the stones of Salomon Bondy and Regina Hesse Bondy were in excellent condition - the reverse of Salomon's stone (in Hebrew) could be easily read. The third stone for Moses Bondi had a crumbling shoulder, with the inscription on both sides in excellent condition. When I visited in June, the cemetery was completely overgrown. There was no sign of any half stones, footages, or any rubble. The graves may exist but could not be seen. The Kolpingsfamilie in Balve cares for the Cemetery. Source: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Dechant-Amecke-Weg. [date?]
Story in German: "Jewish graves are created for eternity" and photo.
Balve city, county Märkischer at Dechant - Ameckeweg. Used 1868 - 1935. 394 square meters. 6 gravestones visible. The burial ground was established in 1972, sold by the city to the Catholic Parish. A previously unused cemetery was opened in Balve probably in 17-18th century. The first gravestone dates from 1718. The last burial was 1935. photos. [Sept 2012]
- Approximately 1975 - 2000 by Heritage Office (Photos)
- 1994 by Michael Senger (allocation list, occupancy)
- History in Westphalia-Lippe 1987 , pp. 100
- Allocation list, occupancy in Senger 1994, pp. 362 - 364
Hartmut Stratmann, Günter Birkmann: Jewish Cemeteries in Westphalia and Lippe dkv the small Verlag, Dusseldorf, 1987. ISBN 3-924166-15-3