Jewish cemetery in Letov

The Jewish cemetery in Letov is a small burial ground on the edge of Letov, now a part of the town of Podbořany in the Louny District of the Czech Republic. Modest in size and largely unknown outside heritage circles, it is one of the oldest surviving traces of Jewish life in the region and a quiet reminder of a community that has almost entirely vanished from the local landscape.

Where did it come from?

Jewish families had settled in Letov as early as the beginning of the 17th century — two households were recorded in 1618, growing to six by 1724. It was this small but stable community that established the cemetery in the first half of the 18th century, serving both Letov and several neighbouring villages. Ironically, the community's growth stalled once Jews were granted full freedom of movement and settlement in 1849: many families then moved to nearby Podbořany, where a larger, more formal Jewish community took shape. In this sense, the Letov community was the direct predecessor of the later religious society based in Podbořany itself.

What survives today?

The site covers just under 1,400 square metres and holds roughly a hundred surviving gravestones. The oldest matzevot, partly carved from local red sandstone, date back to the second half of the 18th century and give the cemetery its strongest sense of historical depth. The last burials likely took place around the end of the 19th century, by which time most religious life had already shifted to Podbořany.

The cemetery did not escape damage — it suffered both during the Second World War and in the following decades, a fate shared by many small Jewish burial grounds across Czechoslovakia that were left without regular care. Despite this, it was never levelled and still reads clearly as a burial site rather than an empty field. In December 2017, the European Jewish Cemeteries Initiative (ESJF) built a new 172-metre stone wall around the perimeter, stabilising its boundaries and making long-term protection easier. Today the cemetery is freely accessible and formally cared for by the local municipality.

Getting there and when to visit

The cemetery lies outside the built-up area, a few hundred metres from the centres of both Letov and Podbořany — roughly 600 to 750 metres on foot, depending on which village you start from. Podbořany sits in the Ústí nad Labem Region, between Žatec and Louny, so a car is the most practical way to reach it, best combined with a broader trip through the Ohře river valley. Spring and autumn are the most comfortable seasons to visit, when low vegetation neither hides the gravestones nor overwhelms the small, quiet plot, and mild weather makes for an easy, unhurried walk.

Frequently asked questions

Is the Letov cemetery the same as the Jewish cemetery in Podbořany itself? No. They are two separate sites: the older cemetery in Letov dates from the 18th century and served the original village community, while a separate cemetery in the town of Podbořany was founded later, once most of the community had relocated there.

How many gravestones have survived? Around a hundred, including the oldest examples from the second half of the 18th century, partly made of red sandstone.

Can visitors walk around on their own? Yes, the site is freely accessible. As with any historic burial ground, visitors are expected to treat the gravestones and surroundings with ordinary respect.

Who looks after the cemetery today? It formally belongs to the local municipality, and its protection was reinforced in 2017 when the ESJF built a new stone perimeter wall around the site.