Jewish cemetery in Dlouhá Ves

The Jewish cemetery in Dlouhá Ves is a small, quiet burial ground tucked away in the fields about 300 metres southeast of the local Catholic church, in the municipality of Annín in the Klatovy district of the Šumava region. It's the kind of site that's easy to drive past without noticing — yet it holds more than three centuries of local history.

When was the cemetery established?

The cemetery already existed in the first quarter of the 18th century, with its oldest legible tombstone dated 1742, though the site itself was laid out even earlier, before 1724. It covers roughly 1,100 square metres and still contains 49 visible 18th-century tombstones. Burials continued without interruption until the 1930s, a sign that the Jewish community here remained active from the 17th century onward, even though the local congregation was formally dissolved by an 1890 act — Jewish residents stayed in the area for decades after that.

What survived the war?

During the Second World War, the cemetery was completely destroyed by the Nazis, who systematically removed and destroyed the gravestones, a fate shared by many Jewish burial sites across occupied Bohemia and Moravia. It wasn't until 1945 that some of the historic tombstones were recovered and returned, allowing the older section of the cemetery to be partially reconstructed. The restoration work was carried out jointly by non-Jewish local residents, municipal authorities, and people of Jewish origin, and the site has received periodic upkeep ever since.

Who is buried here?

One particularly memorable figure rests in this cemetery: Mathias Kraus (1751–1856), who lived to the age of 105. His long life became the inspiration for a female character named Ezechiel in the play "Tvrdohlavá žena" ("The Stubborn Woman") by the Czech writer Josef Kajetán Tyl — a curious example of how a local story found its way into 19th-century Czech literature.

How can you visit?

The cemetery is listed as a protected monument and remains freely accessible, though there are no signs or information panels marking the entrance — visitors reach it via a public road. It sits on flat, isolated rural ground, surrounded by the kind of quiet typical of this part of the Šumava foothills. It's worth combining a visit with a stop in nearby Dobrá Voda, about 7 km away, where a museum dedicated to the history of western Bohemian Jewish communities has operated since 1997 in the family home of the rabbi and historian Šimon Adler (1884–1944, murdered in Birkenau).

Frequently asked questions

Is the cemetery open to the public? Yes, the site is freely accessible, although there are no signs or information boards on the ground.

How many tombstones have survived? There are 49 visible 18th-century tombstones, some of which were recovered and returned to the cemetery after being scattered during the wartime destruction.

Until when were burials held here? The last burials took place in the 1930s, even though the local Jewish congregation had been formally dissolved back in 1890.

Are there other Jewish heritage sites nearby? About 7 km away, in Dobrá Voda, there is a museum on the history of western Bohemian Jewish communities, housed in the birthplace of rabbi Šimon Adler.