Jewish cemetery in Mirotice

The Jewish cemetery in Mirotice ranks among the best-preserved sites of its kind in southern Bohemia, set on a hillside near the small town of Mirotice in the Písek district. With roughly 250 surviving gravestones, this modest burial ground reflects centuries of Jewish presence in the region, as well as the community's tragic fate during the Second World War.

When was the cemetery established?

The burial site was officially founded in 1681, when the then owner of Mirotice, J. F. Doudlebský, granted the local Jewish community a plot of municipal land known as Na Husinci for burying their dead. The oldest surviving gravestone, however, is dated even earlier – to 1647 – suggesting that burials in the area predate the cemetery's formal establishment. The grounds were subsequently enlarged twice, in 1740 and again in 1805, as the local Jewish population grew.

How large is the cemetery and what remains today?

The cemetery covers an area of 3,417 square meters on the eastern slope of a hill, enclosed by a stone wall. About 250 gravestones have survived, crafted from marble, granite, and sandstone and spanning the 17th through the 20th centuries. A mortuary building also stands on the grounds. The variety of materials and stylistic forms allows visitors to trace changing burial customs across nearly three centuries.

Who was buried here?

The Jewish community of Mirotice effectively served as the parent community for the Jews of nearby Písek, since Písek itself never had its own Jewish cemetery – almost all of its deceased community members were laid to rest in Mirotice instead. The cemetery was also used by Jews from the village of Svučice, located about 4 kilometers away. This made the Mirotice cemetery an important site of remembrance not just for the town itself, but for the wider Písek region.

What happened to the local Jewish community?

The community, with roughly 250 years of history behind it, met a tragic end. In 1938, 26 Jews lived in Mirotice. During the war, 21 of them were killed in Nazi concentration camps, and only one survivor returned to the town afterward. The last burial in the cemetery took place in 1946, symbolically closing a chapter that had spanned centuries.

What is the cemetery's status today?

The Jewish cemetery in Mirotice is protected as a cultural monument of the Czech Republic. Thanks to this protected status and ongoing local care, it is considered one of the best-preserved Jewish cemeteries in southern Bohemia, both in terms of the condition of its gravestones and the legibility of its historical layout.

Frequently asked questions

When was the Jewish cemetery in Mirotice founded? Officially in 1681, though the oldest surviving gravestone dates back to 1647.

How many gravestones have survived? Around 250 gravestones dating from the 17th to the 20th century.

Why is the cemetery important for Písek? Because Písek never had its own Jewish cemetery, nearly all of its Jewish residents were buried in Mirotice instead.

When was the last burial held here? In 1946, after the majority of the local Jewish community had perished during the Holocaust.