The Jewish cemeteries of Vinius are the three Jewish cemeteries

Jewish cemetery

A Jewish cemetery is a cemetery where members of the Jewish faith are buried in keeping with Jewish tradition....

 of the Lithuanian

History of the Jews in Lithuania

The history of the Jews in Lithuania spans the period from the eighth century to the present day. There is still a small community in that country, as well as an extensive Lithuanian Jewish diaspora in Israel, the United States and other countries. For more detail, see Lithuanian Jews.-Early...

 Jews living in what is today Vilnius

Vilnius

Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...

, the capital of Lithuania

Lithuania

Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...

, which was known to them for centuries as Vilna, a principal city of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and in the 19th Century the Pale of Settlement in the Russian Empire. Two of the cemeteries were destroyed during the Soviet occupation and during Lithuanian SSR

Lithuanian SSR

The Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic , also known as the Lithuanian SSR, was one of the republics that made up the former Soviet Union...

 times and the third is still active.

The oldest and the largest Jewish cemetery was established in Šnipiškės

Šnipiškes

Šnipiškės is a neighborhood in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. Located on the north bank of the river Neris, it is the site of Vilnius' new business district. Several skyscrapers and the new Europa Tower business center have been erected since the turn of the millennium...

 (Yiddish: Shnipishok) suburb, now in Žirmūnai elderate, on the opposite bank of the Neris River than Gediminas Tower

Gediminas Tower

Gediminas' Tower is the only remaining part of the Upper Castle in Vilnius, Lithuania.The first fortifications were built of wood by Duke of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Gediminas. Later the first brick castle was completed in 1409 by Grand Duke Vytautas...

 in the 15th century. It was closed by Tsarist authorities

Russian Empire

The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...

 in 1831. It was destroyed by the Soviet authorities

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

 in 1949-1950 during the construction of Žalgiris Stadium

Žalgiris Stadium

Žalgiris Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Žirmūnai elderate of Vilnius, Lithuania. The stadium holds 15,029 and was being used by the first division 1 Lyga - REO Vilnius...

. The Palace of Concerts and Sports (Lithuanian: Koncertų ir sporto rūmai) was built in 1971 right in the middle of the former cemetery. In 2005, apartment and office buildings were built on top of another part of the site, incurring condemnation from international Jewish organizations and resulted in a motion being passed in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2008, condemning Lithuania for its "failure to protect the historic Jewish cemetery in Vilnius." In August 2009 Lithuanian government reached agreement with Jewish organizations on the boundaries of the cemetery and granted it protected status. Buildings already on the site will not be demolished. .

The second cemetery was located in Užupis

Užupis

Užupis is a neighborhood in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, largely located in Vilnius' old town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Užupis means "on the other side of the river" in the Lithuanian language and refers to the Vilnia River. The name Vilnius was derived from the Vilnia...

. It was active from 1828 to 1943 or 1948. It was also destroyed by the Soviet authorities in 1960s following the Great Synagogue of Vilna

Great Synagogue of Vilna

The Great Synagogue of Vilna which once stood at the end of Jewish Street , Vilna, Lithuania, was built between 1630-1633 after permission was granted to construct a synagogue from stone...

. Tombstones from the two old cemeteries were used for staircases in various construction works around the city. Currently a memorial constructed of them marks the location of the former entrance to the cemetery. Moreover, there are plans to build a monument in place of the old cemetery in Užupis.

The new Jewish cemetery was opened in Šeškinė

Šeškine

Šeškinė is a fairly new suburb located in the north of Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, built in 1977 as a microdistrict.Šeškinė is a largely residential suburb although it is also home to the Akropolis Mall, one of the largest in Eastern Europe. The largest sports facilities in Lithuania, the...

 district near Sudervė Cemetery. Some graves of famous people, including that of the Vilna Gaon

Vilna Gaon

Elijah ben Shlomo Zalman Kramer, known as the Vilna Gaon or Elijah of Vilna and simply by his Hebrew acronym Gra or Elijah Ben Solomon, , was a Talmudist, halachist, kabbalist, and the foremost leader of non-hasidic Jewry of the past few centuries...

, were relocated to the new place from the old cemeteries before the destruction. Currently it has about 6,500 Jewish graves.