Old Cemetery in Třebíč

The Old Cemetery in Třebíč is a historic Jewish burial ground on a hillside behind the town's former Jewish quarter, ranking among the largest and best-preserved sites of its kind in the Czech Republic. Together with the quarter's houses and the Basilica of St Procopius, it forms part of the ensemble inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2003 — the first independent Jewish monument recognized as world heritage outside Israel.

How did the cemetery come to be here?

Jewish traders are believed to have settled in Třebíč soon after the Benedictine monastery was founded in 1101, though the earliest written record of a Jewish presence in the town dates only to 1338. The burial ground itself grew in two stages: an older section dating back to the 15th century, and a newer extension added in the 19th century once space in the original plot ran out. In 1723 the town authorities formally established a ghetto in Třebíč, confining the Jewish community to this small area at the foot of the hill for the next two centuries.

What is there to see?

Roughly 4,000 tombstones survive on the site, packed tightly in irregular rows beneath old trees that give the place an unusually quiet, contemplative feel. Many of the headstones carry elaborate inscriptions and carved reliefs — family emblems, floral motifs, or symbols referring to the trade or origin of the person buried — making them some of the most notable examples of funerary art in the region. The ground slopes gently down the hillside, so the upper rows offer views over the former Jewish quarter and the valley of the Jihlava River below.

Why is it worth visiting?

The cemetery completes a visit to Třebíč's Jewish quarter — without it, it is hard to grasp the scale and endurance of the community that coexisted here with the town's Christian population for centuries. It combines historical weight with a distinctive atmosphere: densely packed, tilted, moss-covered stones create a landscape with few parallels elsewhere in Central Europe. For anyone interested in Czech Jewish history, gravestone epigraphy, or funerary architecture, this is one of the essential stops in the Vysočina region. Walking between the rows of headstones at different points on the slope also offers a different perspective on the town itself — its layout, the proximity of two historic religious communities, and the way the hill kept the cemetery apart from the everyday life of the ghetto below.

Frequently asked questions

Is the Old Cemetery in Třebíč part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site? Yes. The cemetery, together with the Jewish quarter and the Basilica of St Procopius, was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2003.

How many tombstones remain on site? Around 4,000 gravestones have survived, dating from several different centuries.

How old is the cemetery? Its older section goes back to the 15th century; a newer part was added in the 19th century once the original burial ground filled up.

Where exactly is the cemetery located relative to the Jewish quarter? It lies outside the former ghetto itself, on a hillside behind the historic quarter, overlooking the Jihlava river valley.