In 1970, the cemetery was submerged below waters from a new dam. 90 stones were moved to Trhovy Stepanov cemetery. [February 2009]
US Commission No. CZCE000226
Alternate name: Unter-Kralewitz (German), Dolni Kraloivice. The town is located in the province of Bohemia, Benesov at 49º40 15º09, 62 km ESE of Prague. The cemetery is located 400 meters NW of the ancient square, at the bottom of Zelivka River dam. There are no Jews.
- Town: new village of the same name, built further off is Obecni urad, 257 68 Dolni Kralovice.
- Regional: Zidovska Nabozenska Obec Praha, Maislova 18, 110 01 Praha 1; tel. 02/231-69-25; and Okresni Urad, Referat Kultury, 256 01 Benesov u Prahy; and the District Conservator of Monuments: Dr. Jiri Tywoniak, Zapova 601/22, 256 01 Benesov u Prahy; tel. 0301/236-18.
- Interested: Statni Zidovske Muzeum, Jachymova 3, 110 01 Praha 1; tel. 02/231-07-85 and 231-06-34 and the former local historian: Zdenek Vesely 252 63 Roztoky u Prahy cp. 899; and the Okresni Muzeum, Vitezne namesti 3, 256 46 Benesov u Prahy; tel. 0301/204-14.
Earliest known Jewish community is allegedly from the 16th century, but probably 17th century, and recorded in 1717. 1930 Jewish population was 51. After 1848, Jews moved to big towns. The Jewish cemetery originated probably in the 17th century with last known Conservative Jewish burial 1952. Villages of Krivsoudov and Cestice, 7 km and 9 km away, used site. The isolated suburban/rural hillside by water has no sign or marker. Access to the cemetery is when the dam is drained and empty. A broken masonry wall but no gate surrounds the cemetery. The cemetery is 0.1014 ha both before and after World War II.
500 and 1,000 gravestones existed. Some gravestones were removed and about 90 tombstones were buried in the cemetery of Trhovy Stepanov in 1970. The gravestones date from 17th-20th century. The marble, granite and sandstone flat shaped, finely smoothed and inscribed, flat with carved relief decoration, multi-stone monuments, or obelisks have Hebrew, German or Czech inscriptions. The cemetery contains no known mass graves. A regional or national government agency owns site used for a water reservoir (river dam) as are the adjacent properties. Vandalism occurred during World War II and between 1945 and ten years ago. No one cares for the cemetery now. Within the cemetery is a pre-burial house ruins.
Jiri Fiedler, z"l, Brdickova 1916, 155 00 Praha 5; tel. 02/55-33-40 completed survey in June 1992. Documentation: censuses of 1724 and 1930, the cadastre of 1838 and 1855, the notes of the Statni Zidovske Muzeum Praha, Vestnik ZNO, 1975, No. 8, and letters of Z. Vesely, (mentioned above) done in 1983 and 1984. Other documentation also exists, but is too minute. This documentation is in the archives of the Statni Zidovske Muzeum, Praha and the Prague Jewish Congregation. Fiedler visited site and interviewed Z. Vesely.