Jewish Cemetery in Bezdružice

The Jewish cemetery in Bezdružice is one of the lesser-known but strikingly atmospheric remnants of Jewish life in western Bohemia. The burial ground sits in a forest between the small town of Bezdružice and the village of Řešín, technically located within the Řešín cadastral area, and today draws travelers looking for quiet, historically rich spots away from crowded tourist routes.

When was the cemetery established?

The cemetery was founded around 1760, on land donated by the owner of the local castle, a member of the noble Löwenstein family. The Löwensteins held patronage over Bezdružice and the surrounding estate for generations, and their decision to grant land for Jewish burials reflects a broader pattern of relations between local nobility and Jewish communities that had been settling in the region since the 17th and 18th centuries.

What survives on site today?

Following restoration work carried out in 2010 and 2011, roughly a hundred tombstones still stand on the cemetery grounds. The oldest legible inscriptions date back to the 1790s, making this one of the older testimonies to Jewish presence in the area. Beyond the gravestones, the foundations and floor of the tahara house — the building used for the ritual preparation of bodies before burial — have also been preserved. This is a relatively rare survival, as many smaller Jewish cemeteries in the Czech Republic have lost this type of structure entirely.

How do you get to the cemetery?

The site is reached via a yellow-marked hiking trail, meaning a visit often turns into a walk through the surrounding forest. The wooded setting gives the cemetery a distinctly contemplative feel: moss-covered stones scattered among the trees, a landscape typical of many forgotten Jewish burial grounds across the Sudetes and Šumava foothills.

What is the connection to the Bezdružice synagogue?

The nearby town of Bezdružice also preserves a synagogue, built in 1812. Together, the synagogue and the cemetery stand as evidence of an organized Jewish community active in the region through the 18th and 19th centuries — a community that no longer exists today, leaving these two structures mainly as historical monuments.

Frequently asked questions

How many tombstones remain at the cemetery? Around a hundred tombstones survive today, most with legible inscriptions.

When was the cemetery founded? It was established around 1760 on land donated by the castle's owner from the Löwenstein family.

Has the cemetery been restored? Yes, restoration work took place in 2010–2011, which helped preserve both the tombstones and the foundations of the tahara house.

How do you reach the cemetery? Follow the yellow-marked hiking trail that connects Bezdružice with the forest area toward Řešín.

Are there other Jewish heritage sites nearby? Yes, Bezdružice still has its synagogue, built in 1812, historically tied to the same Jewish community.