Veselí nad Lužnicí, a town in Tábor District
Veselí nad Moravou, a town in Hodonín District, population 12,500 (2005)
village Veselí in Pardubice Region (Pardubice District)
Town website [February 2009]
US Commission No. CZCE000203
Alternate German name: Wessely. Town is located in Morava-Hodonin at 48º57 17º24, 70 km SE of Brno. Cemetery: 0.5 km S, Masarykova Street. Present town population is 5,000-25,000 with fewer than 10 Jews.
- Town: Mayor Engineer Jaroslav Miklenda, Mestsky Urad, Masarykova ulica [Street], 698 01 Veseli nad Moravou; tel. 0631/2390.
- Local: Engineer Jitka Mensikova, Mestsky Urad-Referat Kultury, Masarykova ulica [Street], 698 01 Veseli nad Moravou; tel. 0631/2223.
- Regional: PhDr. Jaromir Micka, Okresni Urad-Referat Kultury, 695 00 Hodonin; tel. 0628/416.
- Interested: Muzeum Hodoninska, Director Dr. Tatana Martonova, zamecek, 695 00 Hodonin; tel. 0628/21834.
- Key holder: Hanus Richsfeld, Masarykova 996, 698 01 Veseli n.M.; tel. 0631/2876.
Earliest known Jewish community was 16th century. 1930 Jewish population was 64. The Jewish community was a self-standing political community 1890-1919. Ludvik Ehrenhaft, painter, lived here. The Jewish cemetery originated in 18th century with last known Conservative Jewish burial before 1942. No other towns or villages used this unlandmarked cemetery. The flat urban location has no sign or marker. Reached by turning directly off a public road, access is open to all via a continuous masonry wall and locking gate. The pre- and post-WWII size of cemetery is 0.1536 ha.
100-500 stones, all in original location, date from 1781-20th century. The marble, granite and sandstone flat shaped stones, finely smoothed and inscribed stones, flat stones with carved relief decoration or obelisks have Hebrew, German and Czech inscriptions. Some have bronze decorations or lettering and/or metal fences around graves. The cemetery contains special memorial monuments to Holocaust victims, old and new portions, and a pre-burial house but no known mass graves. Brno Jewish community owns the Jewish cemetery. Adjacent properties are agricultural. Occasionally, private visitors stop. Vandalism occurred occasionally, 1981-91. Local/municipal authorities, Jewish individuals and groups within country did work in 1980s and 1991. Brno Jewish congregation pays the regular caretaker. Moderate threat: vegetation and vandalism. Slight threat: uncontrolled access, weather erosion, pollution, existing and proposed nearby development.
Engineer arch Jaroslav Klenovsky, Zebetinska 13, 623 00 Brno; tel. 0 completed survey on 1 March 1992. Documentation: Jan Herman: Jewish Cemeteries of Bohemia and Moravia (1980). Other exisiting documentation was not used. No site visits or interviews occurred.
UPDATE: Hanus Reichfeld is the keeper of the key. The cemetery was cleared after having been so overgrown that stones were not visible. However that will not last. Source: Evy Posamentier; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. [1998]