The Jewish cemetery in Suwałki (Zarzecze Street) was founded in 1825. The last burial took place in 1986. During World War II, Germans devastated the cemetery. Matzevot were used to inlay two swimming pools in Mickiewicza Street (next to the fire station building).

On the area of 3.8 hectares about 20 tombstones have survived, the oldest of which dates back to 1856. The matzevot were made from granite, limestone, and sandstone. Characteristic ornaments and inscriptions in Hebrew have been preserved. The cemetery is surrounded by a wall.

In 1973, the swimming pools in Mickiewicza Street were closed down. Some of the recovered matzevot were incorporated in the wall of the cemetery. In that way a lapidarium was set up.

In the 1980s and 1990s the cemetery was renovated with the financial help of American Jews, under the leadership of the rabbi of Suwałki who survived the war and today lives in the USA.