Jewish cemetery in Černovice

The Jewish cemetery in Černovice is one of the best-preserved Jewish burial grounds in the Vysočina region of southern Bohemia. Spread over an area of just over a thousand square metres, it still holds around 300 gravestones, the oldest legible ones dating back to the late 17th century.

Where is it and how do you get there?

The cemetery sits on the edge of the small town of Černovice, in the Pelhřimov district, not far from Tábor. The surrounding landscape belongs to the Českomoravská vrchovina highlands, an area known for its modest, well-preserved towns with a strong history of Jewish settlement. The site is freely accessible and sits in a quiet, rural setting, making it an easy stop for anyone exploring the wider region.

How the cemetery came to be

The cemetery was established in the 17th century, no later than 1695, serving Jewish families from Černovice itself as well as from the nearby towns of Nové Včelnice and Kamenice nad Lipou. Some accounts suggest the first burials may date back as early as 1600, with the grounds later enlarged in 1680 and again in 1785 as the local Jewish community grew. The last known burial following traditional, conservative Jewish rites took place as late as 1940, shortly before the deportation of the town's Jewish residents during the occupation.

What you'll find on site

The cemetery has an elongated, rectangular layout enclosed by a wall of rough quarry stone. A small mortuary house is built directly into one section of this wall; it was traditionally used to prepare bodies before burial. Around 300 gravestones, or matzevot, survive here, including numerous Baroque and Classicist examples rich in symbolic carving and Hebrew inscriptions. Among those buried is Rabbi David Platschek, who died in 1883 and remains one of the notable figures associated with the local Jewish community.

Like many Jewish burial grounds in the region, the cemetery fell into disrepair during the 20th century — overgrown, with a damaged wall and toppled gravestones. Restoration began in 1996: the site was cleared, the mortuary house and part of the wall repaired, and fallen modern gravestones set upright again. Repairs to the full perimeter wall were completed between 2008 and 2009.

A memorial to the victims of the Holocaust

In November 2002, on the 60th anniversary of the deportation of Černovice's Jewish residents to Terezín, an unusual memorial designed by sculptor Michael Deiml was unveiled beside the cemetery. It consists of 53 irregular stones laid along the path to the burial ground, each inscribed with the name, date, and a fragment of the story of a person deported first to Terezín and later to Auschwitz — a personal, affecting form of Holocaust remembrance that confronts visitors with individual, named lives rather than an abstract death toll.

Visiting and the on-site exhibition

The mortuary house built into the cemetery wall holds a small exhibition on the history of the Jewish community in Černovice and the surrounding area. The cemetery itself and the memorial path with its inscribed stones can be visited freely at any time, while seeing the exhibition inside the mortuary house requires arranging a visit in advance with the cemetery's custodian.

Frequently asked questions

When was the Jewish cemetery in Černovice founded? It was established in the 17th century, no later than 1695, to serve Jewish families from Černovice and nearby towns; the grounds were later enlarged in 1680 and 1785.

How many gravestones have survived? Around 300 gravestones stand on the cemetery's grounds of just over a thousand square metres, including Baroque and Classicist examples from the late 17th century onward.

What is the row of stones near the entrance? It is a Holocaust memorial unveiled in November 2002, made up of 53 stones bearing the names and stories of people deported from Černovice to Terezín and Auschwitz, designed by sculptor Michael Deiml.

Can the cemetery be visited without booking ahead? Yes, the cemetery and the memorial path are freely accessible at any time; only the exhibition in the mortuary house requires prior arrangement with the site's custodian.