50°05' N 15°50' E, 60.6 miles E of Praha. Dražkov [Czech]
website in Czech with photo: "The [landmarked] cemetery located 2 km SW of the village on the edge of the forest on top Radobylka, S of the road Kamyk nad Vltavou dates from later than the second half of the 17th century (reportedly 1680). About 300 tombs dating from 1681 to 1936 are visible, including a number of baroque granite tombstones decorated with floral ornaments and symbols. The reconstructed tahara holds the preserved stone ceremonial table. During 1990s, the cemetery was cleared of the self-seeded vegetation and simultaneously restored: the entire complex, repaired tahara, fences and fallen gravestones righted. Ongoing maintenance cemetery should continue in the future. Restoration of historic tombstones from the 17th - 19 century should be undertaken." [September 2011]
photo of deteriorating pre-burial house and gate and one of trees growing through breaches in cemetery wall. [February 2009]
US Commission No. CZCE000080
Alternate German name: Draschkow. The town is in the province of Bohemia, Pribram at 49º39 14º15. The next larger town is Pribram, 18 km E. The cemetery is 2 km SW of town. Present town population is under 1,000 with no Jews.
- Local: Obecni urad, 262 64 Svaty Jan u Sedlcan, (Director by cadastre) or Obecni urad, magistrate: Mr. Padevet, 262 63 Kamyk nad Vltavou tel. 0306/977-104
- Regional: Pamatkovy ustav pro stredni Cechy, arch. Ms. Vylatova, Valdstejnske namesti 1, 118 00 Praha 1, tel.853-57-46. Also, Okresni Urad, Referat Kultury, Engineer Ma. Touzimska, 261 01 Pribram.
- Interested: Okresni Muzeum, namesti H. Klicky 293, 261 02 Pribram; tel. 0306/4734 or 0306/4746, and Statni Zidovske Muzeum, Jachymova 3 110 00 Praha 1 and Zidovska Nabozenska Obec, Maislova 18, 110 00 Praha 1.
- Caretaker with key: Engineer Josef Vancovsky, 262 63 Kamyk nad Vltavou 165; tel. 0306/977-175.
Earliest known Jewish community was the mid-18th century. 1930 Jewish population was 2. The landmarked Jewish cemetery originated in 17th century with the last known Conservative or Progressive/Reform burial in 1936. Jews moved to big towns in the second half of the 19th century. Kamyk nad Vltavou, 2 km away, used the cemetery from the mid-19th century. Between fields and woods, the isolated hillside has no sign. Reached directly off a public road, access is open with permission via continuous masonry wall and locking gate.The cemetery size is 2,809 sq. m.
100-500 gravestones, all in original locations with 25%-50% toppled or broken, date from 1681. Some stones were moved to a museum of conservation. The marble or granite flat shaped stones, finely smoothed and inscribed stones, flat stones with relief decoration or multi-stone monuments have Hebrew, German or Czech inscriptions. Some stones have metal fences around some graves. The cemetery contains no known mass graves. Praha Jewish community owns cemetery. Adjacent properties are agricultural. Rarely, private visitors stop. Vandalism occurred occasionally in the last ten years and between 1945 and ten years ago. Jewish groups within the country cleared vegetation, fixed the gate, and arranged for repair of stones and wall from 1990 to 1992. Praha Jewish congregation pays a regular caretaker. Within the limits of the cemetery is a pre-burial house with tahara (ritual burial table) and a well. Security and vandalism are moderate threats, and weather erosion, pollution, and vegetation are slight threats.
Engineer Mojmir Maly, Ve Stresovickach 58, 169 00 Praha 6; tel. 35-57-69 and by Jiri Fiedler, z"l, Brdickova 1916, 155 00 Praha 5 completed survey on May 20, 1992 using notes of the Statni Zidovske Muzeum Praha, the history of the village of Drazkov, and the census of 1724 and 1930. Maly visited site in 1992 and interviewed the local historian in 1983.