New Jewish cemetery in Roudnice nad Labem

The New Jewish cemetery in Roudnice nad Labem is the third burial ground established by the local Jewish community in this town on the Elbe River in northern Bohemia, standing as physical evidence of a Jewish presence that lasted for centuries.

Where is the cemetery and when was it built?

The cemetery lies roughly one kilometer west of the second, older Jewish cemetery in Roudnice, and just under two kilometers west of the bridge over the Elbe, on Hřbitovní street (literally "Cemetery Street"). The local Jewish community founded it in 1890, and the grounds were completed by 1896. The fact that this was already the third cemetery built by the community shows how large and long-lived the Jewish population of Roudnice was — earlier burial grounds gradually filled up, forcing the community to establish new ones.

The new cemetery was built during a period when the Jewish community in the town was expanding: a new synagogue had gone up in 1853, a sign of a growing congregation that needed more religious infrastructure. The cemetery on Hřbitovní street was a natural continuation of that growth.

How large is the cemetery?

The site covers an area of 4,606 square meters. That is a typical size for cemeteries founded by mid-sized Jewish communities in Bohemia around the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries — large enough to serve several generations of families, but not requiring enormous resources to maintain.

Until when were people buried here?

The last known burial at the cemetery most likely took place before 1943. That date is not a coincidence — it is tied to the tragic fate of the Jewish community of Roudnice, and of Bohemia as a whole, during the Second World War, when deportations to concentration camps effectively ended the local community as a living presence. Although the cemetery stopped serving its original purpose, it remained a tangible trace of the people who had helped shape the town's life for decades.

Why is it worth a visit?

The cemetery is today one of the few visible remnants of Jewish heritage in Roudnice nad Labem, a town otherwise best known for the Lobkowicz family castle. For anyone interested in the history of Jewish communities in Central Europe, the site offers a glimpse of what religious infrastructure looked like for a provincial yet sizeable and prosperous Jewish congregation — from its synagogue to its successive, ever-larger cemeteries.

Frequently asked questions

When was the new Jewish cemetery in Roudnice nad Labem founded? It was founded in 1890, and the grounds were completed by 1896.

Where exactly is the cemetery located? On Hřbitovní street, about one kilometer west of the town's second Jewish cemetery and just under two kilometers west of the bridge over the Elbe.

How large is the cemetery? It covers 4,606 square meters.

Until when were burials carried out here? The last known burial most likely took place before 1943.

Is this the only Jewish cemetery in Roudnice nad Labem? No — it was the third cemetery established by the local Jewish community, reflecting its long history and size.