Jewish cemetery in Čichtice

The Jewish cemetery in Čichtice is a quiet, half-forgotten burial ground on the edge of the village of Čichtice, now part of the town of Bavorov in the Strakonice district of South Bohemia. It never makes the postcards, but it tells a fuller story about the region's past than most listed monuments do — a physical trace of a Jewish community that lived here for nearly two centuries before scattering and disappearing almost without a record.

Where exactly is the cemetery located?

The burial ground lies a few hundred metres southeast of the village, on the slope of a hill known as Hnojnice, tucked between meadows. The village itself sits roughly 2.5 km south of Bavorov, on the right bank of the Zlatý stream. Reaching the cemetery means crossing a privately owned field, and the enclosing wall is partly collapsed and gateless — this is not a place set up for casual sightseeing.

Where did the local Jewish community come from?

The earliest recorded trace of Jewish life in Čichtice is a prayer room established in 1724. The cemetery itself was founded shortly after, sometime between 1725 and 1797, and its oldest surviving tombstone is dated 1798. In the 19th century, 25 Jewish families were permitted to settle here under the residency restrictions of the time, but most later moved on to larger towns, and the local congregation had dissolved by the end of the century. By the 1921 and 1930 censuses, no Jewish residents remained in Čichtice at all.

What survives on site today?

The cemetery covers just over 0.14 hectares, and estimates of surviving tombstones vary — roughly 130 clearly visible today, with some counts putting the historical total closer to 230, dating from the late 18th to the early 20th century. A small, almost square mortuary house with a hipped roof still stands on the grounds. Some gravestones retain traces of painted decoration and relief carving, with inscriptions cut in both Hebrew and German. Overall condition is poor: more than three-quarters of the stones have toppled or cracked, and seasonal vegetation growth makes access difficult outside spring and early summer. Conservation work in 2006 addressed repairs to the boundary wall and stabilisation of some gravestones. The site is owned by the Federation of Jewish Communities in the Czech Republic.

What else is there to know about Čichtice itself?

First documented in 1359, the village has been administratively part of Bavorov since 1971. Its population has fallen sharply, from 539 residents in 1869 to just 128 in 2021, across 82 houses. It has a 19th-century Chapel of the Virgin Mary with memorial plaques to local victims of both world wars, plus a small niche chapel dedicated to St John of Nepomuk. Čichtice also had a moment on screen: scenes for Zdeněk Troška's fairy-tale film "Princezna ze mlejna" were shot by the nearby Lhotovský pond. It was also the birthplace of Jan Studlar (1896–1969), a Czechoslovak legionnaire and brigadier general.

Why is it worth visiting?

The Jewish cemetery in Čichtice is not a tourist attraction in the usual sense — it is a place for quiet reflection, of real interest to anyone exploring the history of Jewish settlement in the Czech countryside. The contrast between the tiny, now largely depopulated village and the scale of the old cemetery says a lot about how substantial and long-standing the Jewish presence here once was, before it dispersed for good over the following generations.

Frequently asked questions

Where exactly is the Jewish cemetery in Čichtice located? A few hundred metres southeast of the village of Čichtice, on the slope of the Hnojnice hill, within the municipality of Bavorov, Strakonice district.

When was the cemetery founded? Most likely between 1725 and 1797; its oldest surviving tombstone dates from 1798.

How many tombstones survive at the cemetery? Sources differ — roughly 130 are clearly visible today, with some counts citing up to 230 in total.

Is there anything to see besides the tombstones? Yes, a small, nearly square mortuary house with a hipped roof still stands on the site.

Who manages the cemetery today? The Federation of Jewish Communities in the Czech Republic.