The oldest and the largest Jewish cemetery was established in the 15th century in the
Šnipiškės suburb to the north of the
Vilnius Old Town, now in
Žirmūnai elderate, across the
Neris River from the
Gediminas Tower. In Vilna Jewish culture, the cemetery was known as Piramont. Following a decision by the
Tsarist authorities in 1817, it was effectively closed in 1831 when its southern part, comprising a quarter of the original area, was razed to make way for a citadel on the north bank of the Neris, completed in 1837 and closed down itself in 1878. The field north of the remaining part of the cemetery was used for sports and military exercises, and a
hippodrome was built in 1900. The Polish law permitted the reuse of cemetery grounds fifty years after the last burial. The offer of a new cemetery plot by the municipal authorities and of the army's assistance in relocating burials was rejected by the Jewish community, led by Rabbi
Chaim Ozer Grodzinski, which launched an international appeal against the planned liquidation of the old cemetery that included a letter to
Pope Pius XI. By contrast, an acquaintance of his, Leyzer Ran, who left in 1946 for the United States, wrote in his book, published in
New York in 1974, that the cemetery survived the Nazi occupation "almost intact". After the war, the Executive Committee of the
Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic revived the Polish plans for the sports complex, The Lithuanian Soviet authorities erected a granite monument commemorating the old cemetery, The removal of tombstones from the old cemetery and the relocation of selected burials was completed by 1955. Tombstones were incorporated into the new sports facilities. == The cemetery in Užupis ==