The photo of the military armed forces won the competition from “Wikipedia”: the soldier showed the Jewish cemetery

Jewish cemetery in Delyatyn, Ivano-Frankivsk region

Photo: Taras Zolotavin

Photos of the cemetery in Delyatyn, Ivano-Frankivsk Region, were recognized as the best for 2023 in the “Jewish Heritage” nomination of the “Wiki Loves Monuments” photo contest.

The author of the images is Taras Zolotavin, it is said on the competition website. Currently, the photographer serves in the Armed Forces.

“Wiki Loves Monuments” is a photo contest of cultural heritage monuments, which regional branches of the Wikimedia Foundation conduct in approximately 50 countries of the world, including in Ukraine.

The organizers aim to collect photos of all the world’s cultural heritage sites and place them on the Wikipedia pages.

It is noted that three photos depicting a Jewish cemetery, which is not protected by the state, have entered the “Best Series” category.

The cemetery in Delyatyn was photographed by Taras Zolotavin a few years ago during a trip through the Carpathians.

According to him, it was possible to get to the territory of the kirkut – the Jewish cemetery – thanks to the local residents, who, in order to protect the cemetery from vandalism and cattle grazing, surrounded it with a fence.

“I was very impressed by the scale. Before that, I had never seen so many matzos (Jewish tombstones – ed.) at the same time in such a concentration and variety of ornaments.

There is a rather sophisticated work of stone carving. A wealth of stylistics and ornamentation, animals, symbols, inscriptions, etc.” – said Taras Zolotavin.

Among the members of the competition jury are the spouses of Marla and Jay Osborne, who are working on the restoration of Jewish cemeteries in Rohatyn, Ivano-Frankivsk region.

According to them, the cemetery in Delyatyn is one of the few surviving Jewish cemeteries in the western part of Ukraine.

“The cemetery is aging naturally without outside intervention. The photo illustrates the typical density of burials that were in these old cemeteries and the unique style of carving inscriptions and symbols”– the Osbornes commented on one of the photos of the military man.

It is known that in 2023, more than 800 photos were submitted for participation in the competition within the special nomination “Jewish Heritage”.

The photo shows 119 objects from 20 regions of Ukraine. 46 of them are not protected by the state.

Taras Zolotavin is taking part in the contest from “Wikipedia” for the second time. In 2021, the Ukrainian entered the top ten most productive contestants.

We used to reportedthat the photo taken in the Ukrainian reserve won the international contest “Wiki Loves the Earth-2023”