Jewish cemetery in Dlouhý Újezd

The Jewish cemetery in Dlouhý Újezd is one of the oldest surviving Jewish burial grounds in western Bohemia, tucked away in a forest on a low hill roughly 400 meters west of the village. It was established no later than the first half of the 18th century, and its oldest surviving tombstone dates back to 1736.

Where did the Jewish community of Dlouhý Újezd come from?

Jewish settlement in the area is documented from the early 17th century. The community grew steadily and reached its peak in the 1830s, when it counted 20 families totaling 116 people. The village itself never had a synagogue — the community relied solely on a prayer house. As members gradually moved to larger towns through the second half of the 19th and early 20th centuries, the community dispersed, and the last known burials likely took place before 1910.

What survives on the cemetery grounds today?

Around 250 tombstones remain on site, though some records put the number between 100 and 500 stones, most still standing in their original positions. Particularly notable is a group of roughly 180 granite tombstones from the mid-18th to mid-19th century, concentrated in the older, southern section of the cemetery. Inscriptions are bilingual, combining Hebrew and German — a reflection of the everyday linguistic reality of Jewish communities in the Tachov region at the time.

Architecturally, the cemetery holds significant historical value thanks to its numerous Baroque and Neoclassical tombstones, forms that are now rare among rural Jewish cemeteries in the Czech Republic.

What does the site and access look like?

The cemetery sits on a wooded, flat, isolated plot with no sign or marker indicating its presence from the road. Visitors reach it by turning directly off a public road and passing through a broken section of the perimeter wall where a gate once stood — the site is technically accessible but entirely unattended. Ownership belongs to the Jewish Religious Community of Plzeň (Židovská náboženská obec Plzeň).

Has the cemetery suffered damage over the years?

Yes. The site was vandalized, likely before World War II, during the war itself, and occasionally between 1945 and 1991. Cleanup and restoration work was carried out by non-Jewish volunteers in July 1989, but the cemetery has not received systematic maintenance since, and encroaching forest vegetation is visibly reclaiming parts of the grounds.

Frequently asked questions

Where exactly is the cemetery located? About 400 meters west of the village of Dlouhý Újezd, in the Tachov district of the Plzeň Region, on a small forested hill.

Can visitors enter the cemetery grounds? Yes, access is possible through a gap in the damaged perimeter wall, but there is no signage or visitor infrastructure — visitors should exercise care and respect given the site's nature as a burial ground.

How many tombstones survive today? Sources cite roughly 250 tombstones, including a valuable group of about 180 granite stones from the 18th and 19th centuries.

Did Dlouhý Újezd have a synagogue? No — the community used only a prayer house, even at its peak of more than a hundred members.