Jewish cemetery in Bosyně

The Jewish cemetery in Bosyně is a small burial ground on the edge of a forest northeast of the village of Bosyně, part of the municipality of Vysoká in the Mělník district of the Czech Republic. It is reached by a field path branching off the road toward Janova Ves. In some records the site is listed under the name ŽH Vysoká-Bosyně, after the neighboring village of Vysoká that lies just to the west.

When was the cemetery established?

The cemetery most likely dates back to before 1849. It served a small Jewish community living in the area around Vysoká — a group small enough that no formally organized Jewish congregation has ever been confirmed in the surrounding villages. Most of the deceased from this region were actually buried in nearby Byšice, with only a portion of burials taking place at the cemetery near Bosyně.

What has survived to this day?

Around 40 tombstones remain on the site, along with small remnants of the surrounding wall. The rest of the gravestones have either eroded away or been scattered across the surrounding area over the decades. Despite its modest size, the site is protected today as a cultural monument of the Czech Republic. A prayer house that once served the local community has not survived.

Whose graves can be found here?

The surnames that appear most often on the surviving tombstones are Grundfest, Fischer, Pollak, and Friedman. According to local sources, the Rössler family was reportedly the wealthiest among this small community.

What is the connection to Mělník?

After a separate Jewish congregation was established in Mělník, its members sought to build their own cemetery directly in the town. Before that, the region's dead had been buried primarily in Byšice, with a smaller number interred at the cemetery near Bosyně. This pattern illustrates how limited and geographically scattered the Jewish presence was in this part of central Bohemia — without a synagogue or permanent religious infrastructure of its own, the community in Bosyně relied on cemeteries and institutions in neighboring towns.

Why is it worth a visit?

The cemetery in Bosyně is not a grand necropolis with rows of ornate tombstones — it is a quiet, partly forgotten patch of landscape that testifies to the presence of Jewish families in the villages of central Bohemia as far back as the 19th century. For anyone interested in the history of small local Jewish communities, this site offers a starting point for understanding how scattered groups without their own congregation functioned, leaning instead on nearby centers such as Byšice and, later, Mělník.

Frequently asked questions

Where exactly is the cemetery located? On the edge of a forest northeast of the village of Bosyně, along a field path branching off the road toward Janova Ves.

How many tombstones have survived? Around 40 gravestones, along with fragments of the boundary wall.

Is the cemetery legally protected? Yes, it is listed as a cultural monument of the Czech Republic.

Did Bosyně have a synagogue? No prayer house has survived — the community was too small to maintain its own religious infrastructure.

Which families are buried here? The most commonly recorded surnames are Grundfest, Fischer, Pollak, and Friedman, with the Rössler family noted as the wealthiest.