Jewish heritage sites in Czechia (the Czech Republic) have been amply documented. Information on most can be found by consulting the links listed in the General and Regional sections here, or the books listed in the publications section. In addition, we present a selection of individual sites that have additional web resources or their own web sites.
Since the “Velvet Revolution” in 1989, some 70 or more synagogue in Czechia have been restored — see a JHE photo gallery of some of them. (There is a permanent exhibition about reconstructed synagogues and other buildings at the Jubilee Synagogue in Prague.)
Please also search our JHE news feed and site for further information about Jewish heritage sites and developments in Czechia.
GENERAL
Association of Historical Settlements in Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia
A voluntary NGO established in 1990 to promote regeneration of historic town and villages; now partnered with the Culture Ministry. It highlights a number of synagogues and Jewish cemeteries.
U.S. Commission Survey of Jewish Heritage Sites in the Czech Republic
Full-scale inventory to assess sites and threats to them, carried out in the 1990s. It lists hundreds of Jewish heritage sites — synagogues and Jewish cemeteries — regardless of ownership.
“Zidovske Pamatky” (in Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia)
Comprehensive resource and database, with interactive map and historic and architectural information about scores of sites owned by the Prague Jewish community, which runs the web site. (The site is only in Czech.)
“Ten Stars” Revitalization Network
EU-funded restoration project of the Federation of Czech Jewish Communities involving synagogues and five other Jewish sites in 10 places around the country, with the aim of creating a network of linked Jewish museums and restored buildings. Each site houses a Jewish museum centered on one theme. These sites are: Pilsen (Plzeň), Březnice, Úštěk, Brandýs nad Labem, Jičín, Nova Cerekev, Polná, Boskovice, Krnov, and Mikulov. We have posted photo galleries of seven of the sites in our Gallery Section.
Project Keshet – Jewish cemeteries in Bohemia and Moravia
Lists, pictures, videos, epitaph transcriptions, detailed maps, searchable database, and “virtual tours” of dozens of Jewish cemeteries. Mainly Czech text, but also some English. Very valuable resource.
TAMUS: Tachov Archives and Museum Society
Volunteer organization that documents Jewish cemeteries mainly in Bohemia but also in Moravia and also organizes some clean-up operations. Projects are detailed in the downloadable annual reports.
Synagogy v Čechách a na Moravě – Synagogues in Bohemia and Moravia (lists and pictures; Czech text)
Židovské hřbitovy v Čechách a na Moravě” – Jewish Cemeteries in Bohemia and Moravia (lists and pictures; Czech text)
Panoramic 360 degree Views of Several Jewish Cemeteries in Czech Republic
Panoramic 360 degree Views of 19 Synagogues in Czech Republic
Old Postcards of Synagogues, Jewish Cemeteries and other Jewish sites
Old postcard views of scores of sites — not just in Czech Republic (Bohemia and Moravia) but also in a number of other countries — from the collection of Frantisek Banyai.
ARTICLE: Jewish Cemeteries and Burial Culture in the Czech Republic.
Article by Eva Steinová in the ICCROM volume on Jewish cemeteries.
Czech section, Cultural Guide to Jewish Europe
Read online or download Czech Tourism’s Jewish Heritage Guide brochure
A 24-page guide that provides information and photos on Jewish heritage sites all over the Czech Republic, organized by region. It was prepared in cooperation with the Federation of Jewish Communities, the Prague Jewish Community, and the Prague Jewish Museum. You can read it online, download it, or print it, and there is also a smartphone app with more information.
REGIONAL
Jewish Heritage Sites in East Bohemia (Search engine)
Jewish Route in the Plzen Region
Online guide to Jewish heritage sites in 20 towns in the Plzen region of western Bohemia.
Jewish Landmarks in Southern Moravia
Database and information administered by the Brno Jewish community; run in conjunction with the Jewish Tourist and Information Center in Brno that was opened in January 2011 as a collaborative effort between the Jewish community and the Brno Tourist Information Center. Unfortunately the new design of the website is only in Czech (as of February 2019).
The web site of the Jewish Community in Brno
The new design of this web site is also in Czech but has a Google Translate feature. It has information on dozens of towns, including databases and maps for about 60 Jewish cemeteries.
Web site focusing on the documentation of Jewish heritage and history in the Moravian towns of Loštice, Mohelnice, Úsov and Šumperk
PRAGUE
Old Jewish quarter; historic synagogues, including the 13th century Altneu, or Old-New synagogue (the oldest in continuous use in Europe); cemeteries including the famous Old Jewish Cemetery; Prague Jewish Museum (housed in historic synagogue); other synagogues and Jewish cemeteries in inner and outer suburbs.
Key Jewish Heritage Sites in Prague (synagogue.cz web site)
Detailed information on the 13th century Old-New Synagogue; the early 20th century Jubilee (Jeruzalemská) synagogue; the Mikveh at the Pinkas synagogue; the Zizkov Old Jewish Cemetery and the New Jewish cemetery (including maps).
Prague Jewish Museum (Židovské muzeum v Praze)
U Staré Školy 1
CZ-11001 Prague
Tel: +420/222-749-211
fax: +420/222-749-300
office@jewishmuseum.cz
The collections of the Jewish Museum are displayed in four historic synagogues – the Maisel synagogue, the Klausen synagogue, the Pinkas synagogue (now also a Holocaust Memorial) and the Spanish synagogue – as well as in the ceremonial hall of the Old Jewish Cemetery, which along with the cemetery itself also forms part of the Museum.
Stroupežnického 290/32
150 00 Praha-Smíchov
Tel: +420 254 782 169
Synagogue in the Libeň district
Ludmilina 1
180 00 Praha 8
Tel: +420 603 818 947
Neo-Romanesque building, originally built in 1858. It was used as a warehouse for confiscated Jewish property during WW2 and also as a warehouse after the war. It was returned to Jewish ownership and restored in the 1990s and, located near the Palmovka metro station, it is now used as a culture center.
NOTE: The former synagogue in outlying Uhříněves (Přátelství 79 Praha 10 Uhříněves), built in 1848, was used as a laundry after WW2; it was returned to Jewish ownership and is rented out for commercial use. There are commemorative plaques on its exterior.
Jewish Cemeteries
There are six Jewish cemeteries in Prague. They include the famous Old Jewish Cemetery, as well as the wellknown New Jewish Cemetery and Old Zizkov Jewish cemetery, as well as the disused cemeteries in the Liben district, the Smichov district, and the outlying Ohrineves district.
Founded in the 15th century, it operated until closure in 1787; earliest legible grave from 1439. Burial place of many famous personalities. Famed for its many layers and crowded, tilted stones. The web site link includes a “virtual tour” of the cemetery.
Click here to read a report of the documentation of the Old Jewish Cemetery, by Daniel Polakovic
Fibichova/Mahlerovy sady
130 00 Praha 3
Opened as a plague cemetery it 1680, it functioned until 1890. Some 40,000 people were buried there, including noted personalities. The cemetery was partially destroyed in the Communist era, when the city’s TV tower was built there. See map and visiting hours.
Opened in 1890 and still in use. Many lavish tombs, and also the simple gravestone of Franz Kafka. See (and download) map.
U Starého židovského hřbitova
Praha 5 – Smíchov
Founded around 1788 and also known as the Old Radlice Cemetery. It was used until 1937 and has about 600 graves. The cemetery was long neglected, with episodes of vandalism despite restoration efforts.
Click to see further information on the Liben, Smichov, and Uhrineves cemeteries
“City of K” Franz Kafka Museum
Hergetova cihelna
Cihelná 2
Prague 1
BOHEMIA
Jewish heritage sites in Bohemia have been amply documented. Information on most can be found by consulting the links listed in the General and Regional sections above, or the books listed in the publications section. Below, we present a selection of individual sites that have additional web resources or their own web sites.
BRANDÝS NAD LABEM
Classicist synagogue built in 1829, with elevated women’s gallery; Jewish cemetery established in the 16th century, listed as a cultural monument. The synagogue was used as a warhouse after WW2. It was restored as part of the 10 Stars project and hosts an exhibition on “The Roots of Judaism: Rabbinical Literature and Scholarship.”.
Brandýs nad Labem page on 10 Stars project
Detailed information on the history and architecture of the synagogue and community; as well as on the restoration of the synagogue and the exhibition. Photo gallery.
Our JHE photo gallery of the synagogue & Jewish cemetery
Watch video (with English subtitles) about the restoration of the synagogue:
BŘEZNICE
Synagogue, restored as part of the 10 Stars network; old ghetto, Jewish cemetery. The 10 Stars exhibition, in the synagogue, in on Jewish Learning in the Czech Lands.
Synagogue
Originally built in 1725 and rebuilt, in the same style, a century later after a devastating fire. The main hall features a barrel-vaulted ceiling with lunettes. The synagogue stands in the middle of the larger of the two squares of the closed ghetto where Jews were segregated in 1726.
10 Stars Pages on Synagogue, history, and Exhibition.
Jewish Cemetery
on the road to Predni Porící village
Founded in the mid-16th century, the cemetery has fine Baroque gravestones, and about 300 surviving gravestones, the oldest dating from the late 17th century. There is a 19th century ceremonial hall, restored in the 1990s. The cemetery underwent restoration in 2004, with its wall rebuilt.
List of burials, names, dates on the Project Kešet web site
ČÁSLAV
Synagogue
Masarykova 111/29,
Nové Město, 286 01 Čáslav
Moorish-style Synagogue with a distinctive tall, horseshoe arch over the central portal and painted coffered ceiling, built in 1899 and designed by the noted Viennese architecture Wilhelm Stiassny, who designed several other synagogues in central Europe including the Jubilee synagogue in Prague. It was used a warehouse during and after World War II, and later served as the town gallery. Restituted to Jewish ownership in the 1990s, it underwent a fitful restoration completed in recent years.
See article (in Czech) and extensive photo gallery, including old photos and plans as well as images of the restored building.
See World Monuments Fund page on the synagogue
The Jewish cemetery, part of the municipal cemetery on Chotusicka Street, was founded in the late 19th century and has about 200 gravestones.
ČESKÝ KRUMLOV
Beautiful UNESCO World Heritage town, now a major tourism center, entwined in the loops of the Vltava River in southern Bohemia.
Za Soudem 282
38101 Český Krumlov
Contact: Helena Plachtová, Vlašský dvůr, s.r.o.
Tel: +420 601 590 213
Email: synagogue@ckrumlov.cz
Built in 1909, this neo-Romanesque synagogue with an eight-sided tower and Torah-shaped windows was used as a Christian church for American soldiers in 1945 and as a Czech Hussite church from 1945 to 1968. It later fell into disrepair. In 1997 it was restituted to the Jewish community, which partnered with the Český Krumlov Development Fund (an independent entity owned by the municipality), to restore the building as a cultural venue with a permanent exhibition about Jewish history in the town installed in the entryway/winter shul.
There is a Jewish cemetery next to the municipal cemetery on ul. Hřbitovní.
ČKYNĔ
Synagogue
Tel.: +420 388 320 295
Email: synagoga-ckyne@seznam.cz
The synagogue building in this small town in souther Bohemia dates from 1828 and was rededicated in October 2013 after a more than 20-year restoration process. The synagogue is the only surviving synagogue building in the Prachatice district and is one of the few surviving village synagogues in the Czech Republic. It was used for regular services until 1895 and then occasionally until World War I, after which the Jewish community was dissolved.
Founded in the 17th century, then enlarged in the 19th century. Occasional burials took place until 1942. There are about 400 gravestones, including Baroque stones with fine carving. The cemetery has been fully documented by Achab Haidler.
See map of the Jewish cemetery
See video of the Jewish cemetery
Synagogue web site, with Jewish history, photos, and other information, also about the cemetery
DOBRUŠKA
Small former Jewish quarter with a synagogue, rabbi’s house, and mikveh that are used to house the local museum. There is also a Jewish cemetery.
Šubertovo nám. 646, 518 01, Dobruška
Tel: +420 494 629 668
Email: muzeum@mestodobruska.cz
Neo-Gothic building constructed in 1866 after fire destroyed the previous synagogue. It was used after WW2 as a church and today forms part of the local Museum complex, which purchased it in 2006 and reconstructed it in 2010 as a space for cultural events. It stands between the rabbi’s house and mikveh, both also parts of the museum.
Jewish cemetery
Krovicka street
Founded around 1675, it has fine carvings, particularly on the 18th century tombstones and is entered through a simple ceremonial hall with a memorial listing the names of the 31 local Jews killed in the Holocaust
HARTMANICE
Synagogue
Tel: +420 376 383 107
Email: hartmanice@email.cz
Dating from 1883-1884, the synagogue in this remote town in southern Bohemia near the German border was used as a carpentry workshop during WW2 and after the war was further desecrated and used as a warehouse for tires. It was bought in 2002 by Prague publisher Michal Klima, son of the noted Czech Jewish novelist Ivan Klima, who founded a civic association that restored the building and created a Jewish Museum there, whose main exhibits focus on the local pre-WW2 coexistence between Czechs, Germans and Jews. There is a devastated Jewish cemetery.
“Mountain Synagogue” Jewish Museum
HEŘMANŮV MĔSTEC
Havlickova st.
The neo-Romanesque synagogue, built in 1870, was used as a warehouse after WW2. Now used for concerts and other events, as well as an attraction on its own, it forms part of a cultural complex including the former Jewish school (now an art gallery) and rabbi’s house that opened in 2001. Some remains of the old Jewish quarter survive.
Jewish cemetery
Havlickova st.
One of the oldest Jewish cemeteries in Czechia. Its oldest legible gravestone is from 1647. There are more tha 1,000 stones and a ceremonial hall , which still bears an inscription, dated 1838, that reads, “Founded and finished is the House of Eternity. Charity will save us from death.”
Heřmanův Městec town web site with info on the synagogue
Web site with information on Jewish heritage sites in the town
HŘIVČiCE
Jewish cemetery
Founded in the early to mid-18th century (or earlier); one of the largest Jewish cemeteries in northern Bohemia. There are about 400 gravestones, the oldest legible from 1759. The web site has a list of names of people buried there, as well as photographs, videos and other information, including how to contribute to ongoing maintenance and restoration.
Jewish cemetery web site, with history, photos, database of burials
JIČÍN
Jewish quarter, with recently renovated synagogue from 1784, Jewish school andother buildings, including birthplace of the critic Karl Kraus; Jewish cemetery from 18th century. The sites have been renovated within the 10 Stars project, with a permanent exhibit on Jewish Writers in the Czech Lands.
Zidovska
506 01 Jicin
Tel: +420 728 144 596, +420 724 029 359
Email: basevi@seznam.cz, jinzaj@volny.cz
The synagogue was completed in 1773 and was repaired and remodeled in 1840 after a fire severely damaged the building. It already underwent renovation from 2001-2008 and has housed an exhibit.
The 19th century school building was purchased by the local Jewish community in 1872. It housed a Jewish school, prayer room and meeting rooms. The 10 Stars restoration refurbished original fittings and wall decoration. The main part of the 10 Stars permanent exhibit is housed in the school.
Jičín page from 10 Stars project
Our JHE photo gallery of the synagogue, Jewish school, ghetto and exhibit
Basevi Civic Association (in Czech)
Fügnerova 193
506 01 Jičín
Tel: +420 724 029 359
Email: basevi@s
Extensive Information on Jewish sites in Jicin and nearby towns, as well as information on cultural events.
NOVÁ CEREKEV
Synagogue with 10 Stars exhibition on Synagogue Architecture in the Czech Lands; remains of Jewish quarter; historic Jewish cemetery.
Synagogue
Nová Cerekev 42
Tel: +420 733 142 151
Email: synagoga-noce@seznam.cz
One of the most important buildings in the village, the synagogue was constructed in 1855 on the site of a former synagogue. It is as a triple-nave building designed by architect and builder Stephan Walser in the Babylonian-Assyrian style, with wide protruding towers with battlements, a clock on the western façade, and a five-sided eastern apse. It was used as a warehouse after WW2 until 1990 and stood derelict for two decades after that.
10 Stars pages on the synagogue, history, and exhibition
Jewish Cemetery
Established before the year 1676 a few steps from the synagogue and Jewish quarter. It was expanded in 1866 by the addition of a new parcel containing a neo-Gothic ceremonial hall and an entrance from the road. Entry is through a gated wall (the staff at the synagogue can obtain the key.)
JHE Photo gallery of the synagogue and Jewish cemetery
PLZEŇ (PILSEN)
Three surviving synagogues, and two Jewish cemeteries. The Great Synagogue is a city landmark; the Old Synagogue was restored as part of the 10 Stars project, next to it is a ruined synagogue used as a Holocaust memorial. Small Jewish community.
Synagogues
Great Synagogue
Sady Petatricatniku 11
Built in Moorish-Romantic style in 1888-92, believed to be the second largest synagogue still standing in Europe. It was partially restored in 1990s; used as cultural venue and also has a small exhibit on local Jewish history. There are plans for further restoration and also restoration of the rabbi’s house next door.
360 Degree Panorama and other pictures of Great Synagogue
Smetanovy sady 5
Built in 1857-59 in the courtyard of the Jewish community building, designed by Martin Stelzer. It is still used by the local Jewish community. The synagogue was reconstructed as part of the 10 Stars project and houses a permanent exhibit on Jewish life and traditions.
Photos of restoration process of the Old Synagogue
Auxiliary Synagogue
Next to the Old Synagogue stands the roofless ruins of a synagogue built in 1875, now a Holocaust memorial.
Jewish Cemeteries
The New Jewish Cemetery, on Rokycanska nam., was established in 1898 and encompasses about 2,000 tombs. A park and Holocaust memorial stand on the site of an older cemetery in the Lochotin district.
Smetanovy sady 5
Plzeň Region — Jewish Heritage Route
Online guide to Jewish heritage sites in Pilsen and nearly 20 other towns in the Plzeň region of western Bohemia.
ROUDNICE NAD LABEM
Jewish Cemeteries
Old Jewish cemetery
Trebiskeho st
Established in 1613 and used until the end of the 19th century. Located on a steep hill, it has more than 1,500 stones, many featuring fine Baroque carving. There is a grandiose new entry from Farskeho street, which gives a panorama of the cemetery.
360 Degree virtual tour of the Old Jewish Cemetery
New Jewish Cemetery
Hrbitovni Street
Opened in around 1890, near the municipal cemetery, it was seriously devastated during and after WW2 but was restored in the 2000s with a new surrounding wall.
RYCHNOV NAD KNĚŽNOU
Palackého 602
516 01 Rychnov nad Kněžnou
Email: moh@moh.cz
A Regional Jewish Museum of the Orlicke Mountains is located in the late 18th century Synagogue, which was restored and transformed in the mid-1990s as the first post-Communist major Jewish heritage restoration project of the Czech Jewish community. The museum also serves as a memorial to the local Jewish writer Karel Poláček.
Jewish Cemetery
U židovského hřbitova
Well maintained Jewish cemetery dating from the 17th century, with nearly 500 gravestones.
List of burials, with names and dates, on Project Kešet web site
SLATINA
In this small town in southwest Bohemia there is a former synagogue built in 1868 (some sources indicates already in 1850). It was used for worship until 1912; the last Jew left the village in 1917 and the synagogue was sold to private owners. It has undergone various uses, and in 1983 was restored for use as a dwelling, but is listed as a cultural monument.
The Jewish cemetery, outside town, dates from the late 17th century; the last burial was in 1937. There are around 172 Baroque and classicist gravestones.
Slatina Jewish heritage web site
TURNOV
Well restored synagogue from early 18th century; well maintained Jewish cemetery established in 17th century; former Jewish quarter; local Jewish heritage trail (download it HERE).
Krajirova 2199
Turnov, 511 01
Tel: +420 481 366 255
Email: info@turnov.cz
GPS: 50°35’13.473″N, 15°9’13.189″E
Built in 1719 and used for worship until 1941. The Jews from Turnov were deported to Terezin in January 1941. The synagogue was used again for worship for a few years after World War II, then from 1951 to 2003 it was owned privately and used as a warehouse (though much of the interior decoration survived). The town bought the building in 2003 and restored it to its pre-World War II condition in 2007-2008 financed by grants from the Norwegian Financial Mechanism. It was reopened as a cultural space in November 2008 and is open to the public between May and October.
Sobotecka
Turnov, 511 01
The cemetery dates from the mid-17th century; there are more than 550 stones of many styles, with the oldest legible stone from 1649. The 19th century Ceremonial Hall has a small exhibition on local Jewish history. The cemetery is well maintained and can be easily visited as part of a “Traces of Judaism in Turnov” trail marked by signs. Parts of it are located underneath a highway overpass ramp, built in 1987-91.
Individual photographs of all the gravestones from the Turnov cemetery
ÚŠTĔK
Synagogue and Jewish school, restored as part of the 10 Stars network with an exhibition on Jewish schools in the Czech Lands. Jewish cemetery.
Synagogue
České předměstí 95, 96
Tel: +420 739 249 362
Email: lenkakalakaj@seznam.cz
An unconventional neo-classical tower-like structure, built in 1794 on a square foundation at the edge of a steep drop off into a valley. A classroom and teacher’s quarters were located in the basement — and part of the exhibition is installed here, in the reconstructed rooms. The rest of the exhibition is in the renovated rabbinical house and school opposite.
10 Stars page on the buildings and exhibition
Jewish Cemetery
Katastrální úřad Lhota u Úštěku
ulice Střelecká, Úštěk
Tel: +420 731 715 677
Email: revitalizace@fzo.cz
GPS: 50.579785, 14.331324
Located in a forest on the other side of the village from the synagogue, it is open to visitors, with signage giving its history. It may have been founded as early as around 1600; the oldest legible of the 300 or so stones dates from 1672. The cemetery was devastated during and after WW2, but restoration work has been going on, with major work undertaken in 2005.
Czech Tourism information on the cemetery
Report and photos by JHE Coordinator Ruth Ellen Gruber about the sites in Úštěk
ŽATEC
Dlouha 200, Žatec
Tel: +420 732 406 166
Email: synagogue-zatec@email.cz
Twin-towered synagogue with Moorish elements, designed by the local architect Johann V. Staniek and inaugurated in 1872. Privately owned since 2012, the synagogue by 2014 was partially restored (restoration completed on the exterior) and used as an exhibition and concert space.
Jewish cemetery
Opened in 1868, devastated during World War II. The cemetery has a ceremonial hall dating from 1902.
MORAVIA
BOSKOVICE
One of the most extensive and intact old Jewish quarters in central Europe, with a synagogue, mikveh and other buildings that are marked with street signage. Local activists and the town itself have been working to preserve (and promote) it since the fall of communism. A summer festival was started in the early 1990s to raise money for preservation of the Jewish quarter.
Synagogue Maior
The only surviving synagogue in the Jewish quarter, originally built in 1639 by the Italian-born builder Silvestr Fiota di Chiavenna; then enlarged in 1698. The elborate wall decorations date from the 18th Century. The synagogue and the wall paintings were restored, and the building reopened as a Jewish museum in 2001.
Mikveh
In the basement of 3/5 U Templu, near the synagogue, and opened to the public in 2005.
Jewish Town Hall, or Municipal House
Bílkova No. 600
Documented in 1824. The building housed the District Office (until 1855), then the Jewish Community Office and the Jewish German School (until 1920). It has been refurbished as part of the 10 Stars project whose permanent exhibition — housed there and in the Synagogue — focuses on Former Jewish Quarters (Ghettos) in Czech Lands.
Jewish Cemetery
Located on a slope just outside town, it includes about 2,500 gravestones dating from the 17th century. It also has a ceremonial hall and a monument to local Jewish soldiers who fell in World War I.
See list of burials, dates, and names, on Project Kešet web site
Boskovice page on 10 Stars project
Boskovice in the Jewish Brno southern Moravia web site
Our JHE photo gallery of Boskovice
Boskovice Museum, with information on Jewish heritage sites
Boskovice Regional web site with info the Jewish heritage sites
BŘECLAV
u Tržiště street
Housed in a Synagogue designed by Max Fleischer and built in 1868 that is listed as a cultural monument, the Museum has a permanent exhibition on local Jewish history.
Jewish cemetery
The well-maintained Jewish cemetery, established in the 17th century, has about 400 graves, dating back to the 18th century, and a neo-gothic ceremonial hall.
List of burials, names, dates on the Project Kešet web site
BRNO
Capital of Moravia, second largest city in CZ. Active Jewish community; synagogue, Jewish cemetery; unique Jewish Tourist Information Center;, modernist architecture including the Tugendhat villa, at Černopolní 45, designed by the architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe for the Jewish Tugendhat family and a UNESCO cultural heritage site.
Comprehensive Jewish Brno web site
The walk has twelve stations, mapping the history, culture, architectural monuments, and sites related to relevant periods of history, from the 13th century to the present.
Synagogue
Skorepka 13
The city’s one remaining synagogue is a small, modernist building designed by Otto Eisler and built in 1934-36; used by active congregation.
Jewish Cemetery
Nezamyslova 27
Large and well maintained cemetery with nearly 9,000 graves. The Jewish Tourist Information Center occupies one of the cemetery buildings.
Jewish Tourist Information Center
Nezamyslova 27
615 00 Brno, Czech Republic
Tel: +420 544 526 737
Email: tic@jewishbrno.eu
Provides guided tours, printed information, audio guides to the Jewish Cemetery, itineraries to southern Moravia; maps and other information. A collaborative initiative between the Brno Jewish Community and the city’s Tourist Information Center. Located at the entrance to the Jewish Cemetery. The web site also provides extensive information on Jewish heritage sites in southern Moravia.
Tugendhat villa — a UNESCO World Heritage Site
Černopolní 45
613 00 Brno
Tel: +420 515 511 015 or +420 515 511 017
Email: info@tugendhat.eu
Modernist home of the Jewish couple Greta and Fritz Tugendhat, designed by the architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and built in 1929–1930, is a monument of modern architecture, and is the only example of modern architecture in the Czech Republic inscribed in the list of UNESCO World Cultural Heritage sites. It is run as a department of the Brno City Museum.
Jewish community office
tř. Kpt. Jaroše 3, 602 00 Brno
Phone:+420 544 509 622
Fax:+420 544 509 623
Email: zob@zob.cz
DOLNÍ KOUNICE
Synagogue
Baroque synagogue built in 1652-56, restored between 1988 and 2004 and now a culture center in the heart of the old Jewish quarter comprising U synagogy, Skalní and U škrobárny streets. Some 35 houses (out of the original 82) remain, including the former school at No. 581 and rabbi’s house at No. 604. A stone relief from 1818 with a viticultural motif can be found on the wall of the former wine-press-shop at 577 Skalní Street.
Town web site with information on Synagogue and old Jewish ghetto
World Monuments Fund page on the synagogue, with pictures
Jewish cemetery
GPS: 49°4’5.6″N 16°27’44.32″E
Established in 1680 on a hill outside town. There are about 1,500 gravestones, including stones with fine Baroque and Classicist carving. The oldest legible stone is from 1688.
HOLEŠOV
Important Jewish heritage including the “Schach” synagogue, now a regional Jewish museum, and nearby Jewish cemetery, one of the oldest in Czechia. The town’s New Synagogue — a Moorish-style synagogue built in the 1890s and designed by the noted architect Jakob Gartner (who designed several other synagogues, including the Status Quo synagogue in Trnava, Slovakia) was torched and destroyed by the Nazi occupiers in 1941-42. (We have posted pictures and video of this.)
Synagogue
Příční ulice
769 01 Holešov, Czechia
Tel: +420 603 796 411
“Schach” synagogue built in around 1560 and later named for Rabbi Shabtai ben Meir Kohen, known as Schach, a noted scholar who served as rabbi here from 1648 to 1663. It is now a Museum of Moravian Jewry. Opened to the public in the mid-1960s, it was one of the few synagogues fully restored in the communist period. It conserves the interior fittings, furnishings (including a central bimah with elaborate iron grille) and wall paintings dating from the 1730s.
Jewish Cemetery
Located about 100 meters from the Schach synagogue and probably established in the 16th century. There are around 2,000 gravestones, with the oldest legible dating from the first half of the 17th century. There is a ceremonial hall that was restored in 2002-2004, as well as the grave of Schach. There is also a Holocaust memorial and memorial to Jewish soldiers killed in WW1.
List of burials, names, dates on the Project Kešet web site
Jewish Holešov (much information; in Czech only)
Holešov town web site information about Jewish sites
Czech Tourism web site about the Jewish sites
IVANČICE
Jewish quarter comprising Josefa Vávry, Jana Schwarze and Ve fortně streets; 52 houses including school and mikvah; Synagogue (at Josefa Vavry 26) built in 1853.
Jewish cemetery
Menkova ul.
GPS: 49°6’21.25″N 16°22’31.36″E
Dating from 16th century (with the oldest legible stone from 1580), it has stones featuring fine Baroque and Classicist carving; also a large ceremonial hall from 1902.
Digital map and searchable database of Jewish cemetery
JIHLAVA
The site of the destroyed Synagogue, including some of the building’s foundations, is now a Holocaust memorial space, where there is also a statue of the composer Gustav Mahler, who grew up in Jihlava until the age of 15.
Znojemská 4
586 01 Jihlava
Czech Republic
Tel: +420 565 591 849
Email: mahler@jihlava-city.cz
Founded in 1869, with more than 1000 gravestones, including those of the parents of Gustav Mahler (who grew up in Jihlava). The cemetery was restored in 1993, when a new gate and commemorative plaques were installed. A Holocaust memorial was dedicated in 1995.
Click here to see a photo gallery of the cemetery
KRNOV
Twin-towered, neo-Romanesque synagogue built in the 1870s; Jewish cemetery. The synagogue was restored as part of the 10 Stars project and hosts a permanent exhibit on Jewish industrialists and inventors. There is a Jewish cemetery established in 1873.
Soukenická 83/28
794 01 Krnov
Tel: +420 608 643 487
Email: synagogakrnov@email.cz
Krnov page from the 10 Stars project
Krnov Synagogue Website and Civic Association
V Osadě street
GPS: 50°5′5.68″N, 17°43′29.613″E
More than 450 gravestones, fully documented.
List of burials, names, dates on the Project Kešet web site.
Web page about the Jewish cemetery
LOŠTICE
Restored early 19th century classicist synagogue; Jewish cemetery; remnant of Jewish quarter.
Synagogue
Built in 1805-6, used by the Nazis as a warehouse. It became a municipal museum in 1958 and is owned by the city today. It is used now as a cultural and educational center run by Respect and Tolerance, a foundation dedicated to documenting, researching and teaching about Jewish history and culture in northern Moravia, which oversaw the full renovation of the building completed in 2014.
A permanent exhibition about local Jewish history, and the Otto Wolf Library, were opened in 2008, and there is a symbolic Holocaust memorial — it consists of pews in the sanctuary from the great synagogue in Olomouc, which was destroyed by the Nazis in 1939. The compartments in the pews are dedicated to Holocaust victims and contain everyday objects from the period and photos which were somehow linked to the people to whom that compartment was dedicated. See a description of the symbolic memorial by a student visitor.
Jewish Cemetery
Vejmola st.
Located on Vejmola st, about 1 kilometer southeast of the town center. Founded in the mid-16th century, with the oldest legible stone from 1598. The last burial was in 1942. There are some 638 stones, many with fine carving. Some repairs were carried out in 2009-2010.
List of burials, dates, names on the Project Kešet web site
See the JHE article about 2014 dedication of the restored synagogue
Article from 2011 about the synagogue restoration
Respect and Tolerance web site
MIKULOV
Seat of Moravian chief rabbis and Jewish self-government from mid-1550s to 1851. The famous Rabbi rabbi Jehuda ben Bezalel Liva (Löw) was rabbi here in 1553 – 1573, before moving to Prague. Extensive Jewish quarter; historic synagogue restored as part of the 10 Stars network; large and historic Jewish cemetery; informative visitor infrastructure, educational trail, and signage.
Mikulov town web site with information about Jewish heritage sites
The city web site also has 3D video tours of the synagogue, mikveh, Jewish quarter, and Jewish cemetery — scroll at the bottom of this page — tours 13, 14, 15, 16, 24, 25
Husova 1523
Tel: +420 727 914 223
Email: synagoga@rmm.cz
The so-called Upper Synagogue is the only one to survive intact of 12 synagogues that once stood in the extensive Jewish quarter. It was built in 1550, then was remodeled in 1719-1723 with a new baroque layout, with four domes vaulted into a Polish-style four-column Bimah in the center of the hall. A reconstruction in 1977–1989 destroyed many of the original details and ornamentation. The synagogue was re-restored as part of the 10 Stars project, with much of the fittings and decoration, including an ornate Ark, recreated. It hosts a permanent exhibit on “Rabbi Löw and Jewish Learning in Moravia.”
Mikulov on the 10 Stars web site
Our JHE photo gallery of Mikulov synagogue
Jewish quarter
The large Jewish quarter is located on the castle hill. Today only one-quarter of the original complex remains — 90 houses, including the buildings of the Jewish school and an old-age home. There is also a historic mikveh.
The important and extensive Jewish cemetery, with the tombs of important rabbis, is nearby the synagogue. It has around 4,000 gravestones, many finely carved Baroque and Classicist stones. The oldest legible is that of one Shmuel ben Leb Ashkenazi, dating from 1605. There are also graves of leading rabbis. It is owned by the Jewish community in Brno and maintained by the Society of Friends of Jewish Culture in Mikulov. The Ceremonial Hall houses an exhibition on Jewish history and the cemetery (click Number 24 in the photos for a Virtual Tour).
Map and documentation of burials in Mikulov Jewish cemetery
Society of Friends of Jewish Culture in Mikulov
Read an article about the cemetery and its history by Dr. Michael L. Miller
Zámek 1, Mikulov, 692 01
Tel: +420 731 484 500 +420 519 512 368
Email: info@zidovskyhrbitovmikulov.cz
In addition to caring for the Jewish cemetery, the Society created an educational trail leading through the Jewish quarter and marked with plaques that was inaugurated in 2000. It encompasses 14 places along a 1 km route, including the synagogue, Jewish cemetery, mikveh, and ghetto houses.
Mikulov town web site with information about Jewish heritage sites
Downloadable PDF guide to Mikulov with information about the Synagogue, Jewish Cemetery, and Mikveh
OSTRAVA
Ostrava’s six synagogues were destroyed during the Shoah. Its old Jewish cemetery was systematically destroyed in the 1980s. The Jewish community collected the remaining gravestones and moved them to a newly defined Jewish sector of the central cemetery, where a new Jewish ceremonial hall was built, the only one built in the Czech Republic after 1938.
Ostrava Jewish history in the YIVO Encyclopaedia
Research group on Jewish Ostrava
The synagogue in Kingston-upon-Thames, England, uses a scroll from the destroyed Ostrava synagogue and maintains a small research group on Jewish Ostrava that publishes a regular newsletter (available in PDF form) about the city and its Jewish history.
POLNÁ
Well-preserved, old ghetto area (Karlovo náměstí) comprising two areas and including 32 houses, with rabbi’s house and 17th century synagogue that have been restored and refurbished as part of the 10 Stars project. Jewish cemetery dating from 16th century. Polná was the scene of the infamous Hilsner blood libel case in 1899, and the 10 Stars permanent exhibit focuses on that case and anti-Semitism in general (as well as general local Jewish history).
Synagogue
Karlovo náměstí 540
Originally built in 1684 (but reconstructed several times), the syngogue stands more or less at the intersection of the two areas of the ghetto. During the war, the Nazis used the synagogue as a warehouse for furniture seized from local Jews. It was fully restored in 1998-2000, when it became a Regional Jewish Museum, and then revamped again, along with the nearby Rabbi’s House, to open in 2014 as part of the 10 Stars network.
Polná page from 10 Stars project
Jewish cemetery
off Pod Kalvarii st.
Believed to have been founded in the early 16th century, the oldest legible stone is from 1621. There are around 1,200 Baroque, Classicist, and contemporary gravestones arranged in 33 irregular rows. Inscriptions are in Hebrew through the mid-19th century, and then also in German and Czech.
List of burials, names, dates on the Project Kešet web site
Regional tourism web site with info on the cemetery
Our JHE photo gallery of Polna synagogue, ghetto, rabbi’s house, cemetery
Polná town web site, with info on Jewish history and heritage
Panoramic View of Regional Jewish Museum in Synagogue (before its 10 Stars restoration)
PROSTĔJOV
Hanacky Jeruzalem — web site devoted to Jewish heritage in Prostéjov
Founded in 1801
TŘEBÍČ
An important Jewish center with one of the largest and best-preserved Jewish quarters in Europe (including two synagogues — “Front” and “Rear,” rabbi’s house and other buildings, and nearby Jewish cemetery) — the Jewish quarter and cemetery are on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites, along with the Basilica of St. Prokopius. There is a Tourist Information Center next to the Rear Synagogue, which can provide maps, tours, etc. Its web site has information about Jewish sites in the town as well as downloadable maps and guides — including an English language guide to Jewish sites in the town.
Synagogues
Originally built in 1639-1642 to replace an older wooden synagogue. Rebuilt in 1856-1857 in neo-Gothic style. It has been used as a Czech Hussite church since the mid-1950s..
Massive buttressed structure dating from 1669. It long was used as a warehouse, and by 1990 was a ruin. Restored in the1990s, it is now a cultural center that houses an exhibition on Jewish history (which includes exhibits in the Seligmann Bauer´s House next door.) Elaborate wall paintings were revealed and restored during the renovation.
Jewish Cemetery
Founded as early as the late 15th century, with the oldest legible gravestones from 1625. With about 3,000 gravestones, it is located on a hill above the Jewish quarter. It has a ceremonial hall dating from 1903.
Brno Jewish Information page on Třebíč
UNESCO World Heritage Sites page on Třebíč
Take a “Virtual Tour” of Třebíč — 360 degree capability
Czech Jewish Experience — Jewish Travel & Sightseeing in Třebíč
ÚSOV
Synagogue
Built in 1784, the synagogue was devastated on Kristallnacht in 1938 when the Nazis burnt its furnishings, fittings, library, and archives. Owned by the Olomouc Jewish community since 1993, the synagogue underwent a 15-year renovation process and was re-dedicated, with a museum exhibition, in 2008. Managed by the Respect and Tolerance Foundation, which organized the permanent exhibition, it is well advertised as a local attraction.
Jewish cemetery
U synagogy street, near the synagogue
Established in the 17th century, it has more than 1100 graves, which have been documented.
List of burials, names, dates on the Project Kešet web site
International Jewish Cemetery Project page for Úsov
Úsov page of the Respect and Tolerance Foundation web site