PLEASE NOTE CORRECTION… WE WERE INFORMED OF AN INCORRECT SUM FOR THE CZECH PROJECT
Cemetery work continues in Slovakia — where a memorial has been created at the recently restored Námestovo Jewish cemetery, and in the Czech Republic — where an entry structure has been completed for pilgrims at the Schach cemetery in Holešov.
Each February, hundreds of pilgrims visit Holesov to pay homage at the tomb of Rabbi Sabbatai ben Meir ha-Kohen called Schah, a noted scholar who served as rabbi in Holešov from 1648 to 1663.
The Brno Jewish community informs us that it has now renovated the entrance to the cemetery to better accommodate them. The approximately €100,000 project entailed reconstruction of the former grave-digger’s house, to include toilet facilities, as well installing or repairing a new main gate and side gate, paving the courtyard, and installing new fencing on the south side of the cemetery. The Community expects to receive grants from the EU and Czech government to help with costs.
In Námestovo, Slovakia, a memorial has been created in the Jewish cemetery which in April volunteers restored following an attack by vandals in December that toppled or damaged at least 60 stones.
The cemetery’s Facebook page announced that the memorial had been constructed in one corner of the cemetery, based on a design by the Atelier Holly. It consists of matzevot and fragments of stones set upright in a concrete base, surrounded by plantings. The stones used were fragments that had not been possible to repair, or stones that had been brought back to the cemetery from where they had been used for construction or other purposes.
The cemetery has been under the care and maintenance of a local civic group called Pamätaj (Remember), founded in 2013 to restore the cemetery.
Read our story about the restoration