Established in 1868, Katowice's Jewish Cemetery is one of the city's oldest burial grounds and contains almost 1,500 graves. Largely destroyed by the Germans and their henchmen during WWII, today a Holocaust memorial inside remembers those who lost their lives to Nazi genocide. Like many Jewish cemeteries in PL today, Katowice's is in a state of utter disrepair. Though still in use, the site is undergoing a very long cash-strapped renovation, and this will appear completely baseless to anyone who visits and sees the crumbling walls and strands of barbed wire surrounding the site, beyond which graves are barely visible beneath the overgrowth of weeds, vines and tall grass. If you head there in the morning hours the gatekeeper might be there to open up for you and you can have a look for yourself, but we otherwise recommend calling the local Jewish community in advance to arrange a visit between 09:00-15:00 on (+48) 32 253 77 42. We must warn you that the cemetery offers little more than an occasion for some depressing thoughts and grim photos if you have a camera with a good zoom lens.