Cemetery Čelkovice

Čelkovice Cemetery is a small village burial ground on the southern edge of Čelkovice, a district of Tábor in South Bohemia, founded in 1921 by the local residents themselves. It rarely appears on tourist maps, but for anyone exploring the quieter outskirts of Tábor, it offers a pleasant walk, wide views over the surrounding countryside, and a small piece of local history.

How did this cemetery come about?

In the early 20th century, residents of Čelkovice and the neighbouring village of Horky buried their dead at a new municipal cemetery near Čápův dvůr in Tábor. The location proved unpopular: it was too far from these villages, and the ground itself was considered damp and poorly suited for burials. As a result, both Čelkovice and Horky decided to establish cemeteries of their own. The one in Čelkovice was built in 1921, not as a project of the town or a parish, but as a genuinely communal effort — each owner of a building plot in the village bought their section of the cemetery in proportion to the work they had contributed to building it. This grassroots, neighbour-driven origin is one of the more distinctive things about the site.

Where exactly is it?

The cemetery sits on a hillside at the southern edge of Čelkovice, facing the village of Větrovy, on the street U Lípy. From here there are attractive views across Čelkovice itself and further towards the centre of Tábor, since the cemetery lies clearly south of the town's main square, Žižkovo náměstí. The approach road is lined with lime trees and other woodland, and just before the cemetery gate several field paths branch off across the surrounding farmland. Despite being close to Tábor, the setting feels remarkably calm and quiet, with the picturesque, gently rolling countryside making it feel considerably further from town than it actually is.

What will you find there?

This is a modest, low-key village cemetery rather than a landmark or well-known memorial site — it won't feature in standard sightseeing guides. Its appeal lies more in the atmosphere: the quiet, the views over the fields, and the traces of local history in simple gravestones and enclosure walls. The site has been refurbished recently, with fresh plaster on the cemetery walls and the buildings on the grounds, giving it a well-kept appearance.

What are the burial arrangements?

Čelkovice belongs to the group of smaller cemeteries administered by the town of Tábor, alongside those in Klokoty, Čekanice, and Horky. It offers classic single graves, family graves, and urn graves. Unlike Tábor's largest cemeteries, however, it does not provide columbarium niches for rent or a scattering meadow — a limitation typical of the smaller rural cemeteries in this part of South Bohemia.

When is a good time to visit?

The cemetery is open every day, with hours that change with the season: from 16 March to 14 November it is accessible from 7:00 am to 10:00 pm, and from 15 November to 15 March from 7:00 am to 8:00 pm. Spring and summer are the most rewarding times to come, when the lime trees along the approach road are in full leaf and the long, bright afternoons make the views over the fields toward Tábor especially worthwhile.

Frequently asked questions

Why was the Čelkovice cemetery only built in 1921? Before that, residents of Čelkovice and Horky used a newer municipal cemetery in Tábor near Čápův dvůr, but its distance and damp ground made it unpopular, prompting both villages to build cemeteries closer to home.

Who paid for the cemetery to be built? The residents themselves did — every owner of a building plot in the village bought their share of the cemetery in return for the work they put into establishing it.

Can you rent a columbarium niche here? No. Unlike Tábor's larger cemeteries, Čelkovice offers only classic, family, and urn graves — there is no columbarium and no scattering meadow.

How do you get there? The cemetery is located on U Lípy street, on the southern edge of Čelkovice heading toward Větrovy, just a short walk or drive from central Tábor.