Jewish cemetery in Kardašova Řečice

The Jewish cemetery in Kardašova Řečice is one of the best-preserved remnants of the once-vibrant Jewish community of southern Bohemia. It lies about a kilometer south of the town, along a blue-marked hiking trail, and has remained accessible to visitors for decades.

When was the cemetery founded?

The burial ground was most likely established in the first half of the 17th century and enclosed with a wall in 1673. Its present appearance, however, dates from a mid-19th-century overhaul: after 1850 the grounds were enlarged according to plans drawn up by Martin Víta in 1863, the original low fence was replaced with a tall wall, and a distinctive mortuary house was built into a corner of the site, left open toward the cemetery on two sides with entrance doors.

How many graves survive here?

Spread across 874 square meters, the cemetery holds roughly 160 headstones dating from the 18th century up to the start of World War II, most in Baroque and Classicist style. The oldest legible stone is dated 1820. Among the notable graves are a Hungarian-Czech headstone belonging to merchant Pavel Lauer from 1908, the grave of rabbi and teacher Lazar Beneš, and the resting place of physician Baron Gustav Hoenig.

What is the history of the town's Jewish community?

The first documented Jewish resident of Kardašova Řečice was a glassmaker named Khacal, recorded in 1601. By 1654 at least one merchant family had settled there, and the community grew steadily until 1714, when it numbered 10 families and 48 people — nearly 9% of the town's population. From then on, migration to larger cities gradually reduced the community, which had shrunk to just 20 people by 1930. A formal religious community existed from at least the 17th century, running its own synagogue, school, ritual bath and hospital, and keeping records from 1784 onward — until it was dissolved by the Nazi authorities in 1942, when all Jewish communities outside Prague were disbanded.

What happened to the synagogue?

The first synagogue, a plain residential-style building from 1708, burned down in a town fire in 1863. A new, eclectic-style synagogue was erected on the same site in 1864, featuring a wooden women's gallery with an ornamental railing. Regular services ceased after 1916, and the building itself was torn down in 1958–1959.

What happened to the community during the war?

Between 1942 and 1943, nineteen Jewish residents of Kardašova Řečice were deported to Theresienstadt and from there to extermination camps, including Auschwitz and Treblinka. Only one person survived the war — Marie Hönigová-Krátká, who was protected by a mixed marriage.

Who is the most notable person connected to the town?

Kardašova Řečice was the birthplace of Dr. Leopold Gottlieb (1852–1916), a balneologist whose work helped establish the world's first spa offering radium therapy, in Jáchymov.

Frequently asked questions

Is the cemetery open to the public? Yes, it sits directly on a marked hiking trail and can generally be visited without prior arrangement, though like many historic Jewish cemeteries it may sometimes be locked — it's worth checking locally before you go.

Does the synagogue still stand? No — the synagogue building was demolished in the late 1950s. The cemetery, including its mortuary house, is what remains.

What else is there to see besides the headstones? The unusual mid-19th-century mortuary house, open on two sides toward the burial ground, forms part of the protected historic site along with the surrounding wall.

How far is the cemetery from the town center? About one kilometer south, reachable along the blue-marked tourist trail.