Old Jewish cemetery in Sušice

The Old Jewish Cemetery in Sušice stands as one of the best-preserved witnesses to centuries of Jewish presence in this town in the Šumava region of southern Bohemia, Czech Republic. It lies right against the town's old defensive walls, between the Volšovka stream and Příkopy street, southwest of the main square. The site is protected as a cultural monument of the Czech Republic.

When was the cemetery founded?

Jewish presence in Sušice is documented as early as 1562, but it was only in 1626 that the local community was granted a plot of land for a burial ground. The original site quickly proved too small: as early as 1661, the community had to apply for additional space. The cemetery was subsequently enlarged several more times, in 1739, 1772 and 1810, reflecting the steady growth of the local Jewish population through the 17th and 18th centuries.

How large was the Jewish community of Sušice?

According to the 1654–55 tax register (berní rula), 14 Jewish families lived in the town at that time. Through the 18th century the Jewish population fluctuated between roughly 70 and 90 people. The community reached its peak around 1860, numbering about 300 members. In the second half of the 19th century many Jews moved to larger cities, and the population gradually declined — by 1930 only 112 residents identified with the Jewish faith. The community's history also includes a difficult episode: a pogrom in 1866.

Until when was the cemetery used for burials?

The cemetery served the community for nearly 250 years. The last burial took place in 1875 (some sources give 1874), after which a new Jewish cemetery elsewhere in town took over. Jewish families from nearby villages also relied on this burial ground, including those from Hrádek (about 3 km away) and Petrovice (about 6 km away), underscoring its role as a regional landmark for the wider area.

How many tombstones have survived?

Fewer than 150 gravestones remain on the site today. The oldest surviving one dates to 1703 — even though the cemetery itself was established in 1626, no earlier markers have survived to the present day. Between 1987 and 1988 an amateur restoration of the grounds took place, during which some tombstones were re-erected without their original eastern orientation, a detail traditionally significant in Jewish funerary practice.

What happened to the community after 1938?

Like many other Jewish communities across former Czechoslovakia, the fate of Sušice's Jews was sealed by the Second World War. The local community ceased to exist during this period — none of its members returned from the concentration camps. The old cemetery remains one of the last physical traces of the centuries-long Jewish history of Sušice.

Frequently asked questions

Can visitors go to the cemetery? The site is a place of memory as well as a historical monument, so visitors should observe the customary respect expected at Jewish burial grounds.

How does the old cemetery differ from the new one? Sušice also has a new Jewish cemetery, established after the old one closed to burials in the mid-1870s once space there ran out.

Why are some tombstones oriented differently than usual? During the 1987–1988 restoration, carried out without full expert supervision, several tombstones were repositioned without preserving their original eastern orientation typical of Jewish cemeteries.