Alternate names: Březnice [Cz], Breznitz [Ger]. 49°33' N, 13°58' E, 43 miles SSW of Praha (Prague), 30 miles ESE of Plzeň (Pilsen), in the Příbram District. 1900 Jewish population was 118.
- Encyclopedia of Jewish Life (2001), p. 197: "Breznice".
- JewishGen Austria-Czech SIG
Cemetery photo. [February 2009]
burial list [February 2009]
website in Czech with photo: "The landmarked cemetery is located 1.5 km N of the square, Eof the road to the Předního Poříčí. Established before 1617 and expanded in 1855, an area 2,384 square meters has about 250 tombstones preserved from the 17th century to WWII. Many Renaissance and Baroque and Neo-Gothic tombstones and the ceremonial hall built in the late 19th century remain. Primate of Czech Jewry Wolf Popper is buried there. Ceremonial Hall was renovated in the in the mid 1990s. In 2004, enclosing wall was completely repaired and the cemetery is cleaned. Currently ongoing maintenance exists. In the future restoration of many historic tombstones is required to preserve inscriptions." [September 2011]
map and photos: "The small town Březnice is situated about 17 km north of the town of Blatná on the small river Vlčava (also called Skalice)... [In} the 13th century, there was a Gothic fortress (or castle) in the [site] of the current chateau for the protection of the trade route. In the 14th century, silver mines were founded in the surroundings of the village. Thanks to them the importance of the town grew. In 1422 the fortress...burnt down. At the end of the 15th century its ruins were rebuilt into the Renaissance chateau. The Lords of Lokšany acquired the town at that time ... of its biggest growth. [Chateau was renovated] at the end of the 20th century. There is the gallery of the painter Ludvík Kuba and the town museum in the complex. The originally Jesuit Church of St. Ignatius of Loyola ... was built between 1642 - 1650...with valuable carvings. ...The Jewish ghetto called Lokšany was founded in 1570 by Ferdinand from Lokšany. The district lies near the town square [with] its own small square, the small Napoleonic town hall, and the small Baroque palace of the family of Lokšany. The small St. Roch's Church (1643 - 1649) stands in the cemetery south of the square. The old Jewish cemetery lies about 0.5 km north of the town on the right side of the road in the direction of the small town Rožmitál pod Třemšínem. [February 2009]
NEARBY:
small village Paštiky
small town Mirovice
small town Čimelice
village Bělčice
town with chateau Blatná
Orlík nad Vltavou chateau
US Commission No. CZCE000319
Breznice is located in Bohemia province at 49°33' N, 13°58' E', 43 miles SSW of Praha (Prague), 30 miles ESE of Plzeň (Pilsen), in the Příbram District.. Cemetery is 1200 meter NNW of square, near the brook called Vlcava. Present town population is 1,000-5,000; probably no Jews.
- Local: Vladimir Poul, Mestsky Urad, 262 72 Breznice.
- Regional: Ms. Engineer Touzimska, Okresni Urad-Referat Kultury, Jiraskovy sady 240; 261 01 Pribram; tel. 0306/511; also: Zidovska Nabozenska Obec v Praze, Maislova 18 110 01 Praha 1; tel. 02/231-69-25; also: Pamatkovy ustav, Ceskomoravska 20-21, 190 00 Praha 9; tel. 02/853-57-46.
- Interested: Statni Zidovske Muzeum, Jachymova 3, 110 01 Praha 1; tel. 02/231-06-34 or 02/231-07-85; also: Mestske Muzeum, zamek, 262 72 Breznice; also: Okresni Muzeum, namesti H. Klicky 293, 261 02 Pribram; tel. 0306/4734 or 4746.
Earliest known Jewish community was in the second half of the 16th century or the first half of the 17th century. There were 30 Jews. [sic] Founding of the ghetto was allegedly in 1562 or 1570. Archives of Jewish congregation burned in 1821. Peak Jewish population was in mid-19th century (190 people). Later, Jews moved to big towns. Well-known Prague trader and financier Joachim von Popper (d. 1795), one of the first Jews raised to nobility in the Hapsburg monarchy, lived here. The landmarked cemetery originated before 1617. Buried here include rabbis, regional (county) rabbis, and Wolf Popper, head of Bohemian Jewry. Last known Conservative Jewish burial was before 1943. The rural, flat isolated site has a masonry wall with only one gap and non-locking gate. Reached by turning directly off a public road, access is open to all. Original and current size of the cemetery is 0.2384 ha.
Approximate the number of gravestones in cemetery, is 100-500. Number of stone in original location, regardless of condition is 100-500. Less than 25% toppled or broken, Modern tombstones stolen. The cemetery is not divided into sections. Oldest known tombstone is late 17th century. Stones date from 17th-20th centuries. The marble, granite and sandstone flat shaped stones, finely smoothed and inscribed stones, flat stones with carved relief decoration or multi-stone monuments have Hebrew, German and Czech inscriptions. Some have metal fences around graves. There are no known mass graves. Praha Jewish community owns the Jewish cemetery. Properties adjacent are agricultural. Frequently, organized Jewish group tours or pilgrimages, organized individual tours and private visitors stop. It was vandalized between World War II and the last 10 years and occasionally in the last 10 years, including modern tombstones and ceremony hall. Local non-Jewish residents and local/municipal authorities cleared vegetation periodically. There is no care. Within the limits of the cemetery is a pre-burial house. Very serious threat: security and vandalism, due to free access. Slight threat: weather erosion, pollution and vegetation. Vegetation overgrowth is a seasonal threat, preventing access.
Engineer Mojmir Maly, Ve Stresovickach 58, 169 00 Praha 6; tel. 02/35-57-69 and Jiri Fiedler, z"l, Brdickova 1916, 15500 Praha 5 tel. 02/55-33-40 completed survey on Aug. 29, 1992. Documentation: censuses of 1570, 1618, 1849 and 1930; Die Juden und Judengemeinden Boehmens (1934) (The Jews & Jewish Communities of Bohemia), Jahrbuch fuer die israelische Cultusgemeinden Boehmens (1893-4); Jan Herman: Jewish Cemeteries... (1980). Engineer M. Maly (see above) visited site in 1992.