Jewish cemetery in Křinec

The Jewish cemetery in Křinec is a small, partly derelict burial ground set on an isolated hillside near the Chotuc hill, a few hundred metres outside the centre of the town of Křinec in Central Bohemia. Established in the second half of the 19th century, it served the local Jewish community until the outbreak of the Second World War.

When was the cemetery founded?

The cemetery was established in 1884. Before that, the Jews of Křinec had no burial ground of their own and had to bury their dead in the distant town of Veselice, a considerable hardship for such a small and scattered community. The new cemetery was consecrated on 21 November 1884, and just ten days later it received its first burial: Eliáš Heller, one of the people who had helped found the site in the first place. The cemetery covers an area of roughly 2,464 square metres.

Who was buried here?

In the 19th century Křinec had an active Jewish community with its own synagogue, a building that still stands in the town today as a reminder of that community's presence. The Jewish community of Křinec formally ceased to exist in the early 20th century, following administrative changes introduced by a law of 1890 that merged smaller congregations into larger regional centres. Burials continued at the cemetery until the Second World War. None of the Jews connected with Křinec survived the Holocaust, a fact with lasting consequences for the site itself: after the war there was simply no one left to care for it.

What condition is the cemetery in today?

After the war the cemetery fell into gradual neglect, and in 1984 it passed into private ownership, which only accelerated its deterioration. The site sits in an isolated spot between fields and woodland, with no sign marking it from the road; access is through a gap in the crumbling perimeter wall and a gate that no longer locks. About 40 gravestones survive from the late 19th and 20th centuries, though their condition is poor: a number of them are no longer standing in their original positions, and more than three-quarters are toppled or broken. The stones were carved from marble, granite, limestone and sandstone, and their inscriptions appear in Hebrew, German and Czech — a three-language record of how closely the local Jewish community had blended into its surrounding Czech-German environment.

What else can be found on the grounds?

The cemetery grounds also contain a pre-burial house, a well, and one notably large tomb that stands out among the otherwise modest gravestones. Ownership of the site formally rests with the Jewish community of Prague, which is nominally responsible for its upkeep, although in practice the grounds have also been used for dumping waste — a grim but telling illustration of the fate that has befallen many small, forgotten Jewish cemeteries across the Czech countryside.

Is it worth visiting?

Křinec's Jewish cemetery is not a tourist attraction in the conventional sense — it is a site of memory, bearing witness to a community that existed here for more than a century and vanished without survivors during the Holocaust. For anyone interested in Czech Jewish history, 19th-century sepulchral architecture, or simply a quiet, rarely visited place with a raw, unembellished atmosphere, it is a meaningful, if sobering, stop on a tour of Central Bohemia.

Frequently asked questions

When was the Jewish cemetery in Křinec established? In 1884, with the consecration taking place on 21 November of that year.

How many gravestones have survived? Around 40 gravestones from the late 19th and 20th centuries, more than three-quarters of which are toppled or damaged.

Who owns the cemetery? The site formally belongs to the Jewish community of Prague.

Is the cemetery fenced off or supervised? No — it is accessible through a gap in the perimeter wall and an unlocked gate, with no on-site supervision or road signage.

What other structures are on the site besides the gravestones? A pre-burial house, a well, and one large, distinctive tomb.