What is the Jews' Gate Cemetery on the Upper Rock in Gibraltar?

Short answer

Jews' Gate Cemetery, on Windmill Hill along Queen's Road at the southern end of the Upper Rock, is Gibraltar's historic Jewish burial ground, used from at least 1746 until 1848. Restored and rededicated in 2015, it can be visited with an Upper Rock Nature Reserve ticket.

Detailed answer

What it is

The cemetery holds more than 800 graves, most of them flat Sephardic slabs. The earliest known burial dates from 1746 and the last from 1848, when burials moved to the Jewish section of North Front Cemetery, which is still in use today.

A walled enclosure at the centre holds the graves of around ten to twelve religious judges, including Chief Rabbi Solomon Abudarham, who died in 1804 and gave his name to the Abudarham Synagogue.

Years of neglect

The site lay within a military area for much of the 20th century, and civilians needed a permit to enter. Members of the community were allowed one visit a year, on the festival of Lag BaOmer, and the graves only began to be uncovered from 1984.

Restoration

The Managing Board of the Jewish Community commissioned a restoration in 2012, funded by a Government grant. Raised walkways on light supports, a ramp and steps now let visitors see the graves without walking on them. The cemetery was rededicated on Sunday 31 May 2015 in the presence of the Chief Minister and the Chief Rabbi of the Commonwealth, and the project won a Gibraltar Heritage Trust award later that year. It is a protected heritage site.

Visiting

The cemetery is inside the Upper Rock Nature Reserve, and entry is included in the Nature Reserve fee. It sits near the Jews' Gate entrance, so it combines well with a visit to the southern part of the Upper Rock. Vegetation is left to grow in winter and spring to protect nesting Barbary partridges, so the graves are easiest to see in late spring and summer.