town image and cemetery photo [February 2009]
Frydek-Mistek Torah
Frydek Mistek: "Vandalism in mid-September 1997 resulted in eighty of the approximately 200 gravestones in the cemetery being overturned and broken. The town is 210 miles E of Prague." Source: The Jewish Heritage Report, 123 Clarke St., Syracuse, NY 13210. [1997]
Alternate names: Frýdek-Místek [Cz], Friedeck-Mistek [Ger], Frýdek, Místek. 11 miles S of Ostrava (Mährisch-Ostrau), in E Moravia. Originally two towns: Moravian Místek and Silesian Frýdek. Jewish population: 262 + 227 (in 1890). The cemetery was vandalized in mid-September 1998 while undergoing rehabilitation.80 of the 200 gravestones were broken or overturned. [February 2009]
REFERENCES: [February 2009]
Encyclopedia of Jewish Life (2001), p. 406: "Frydek-Mistek".
Słownik Geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego (1880-1902), II, p. 416: "Frydek"; IV, p. 503: "Mistek".
Encyclopedia of Jewish Life (2001), p. 406: "Frydek-Mistek".
US Commission No. CZCE000081
Alternate name: Friedeck and Mistek in German. Frydek-Mistek is located in the province of Silesia at 49°41' N, 18°20' E , 11 miles S of Ostrava (Mährisch-Ostrau), in E Moravia. The cemetery is located 3 km SE, Tesinka Street. Present town population is 25,000-100,000 with fewer than 10 Jews.
- Town: magistrate mgr. Pavel Vyvijal, Mestsky Urad, tr. T.G. Masaryka 1147, 738 01 Frydek-Mistek; tel. 0658/20468.
- Local: Engineer Tkacikova, Mestsky Urad-Referat Kultury, tr. T.G. Masaryka 1147, 738 01 Frydek-Mistek; tel. 0658/23451-5.
- Regional: Dr. Zuzana Brizova, Okresni Urad, Referat Kultury, Palackeho 115, 738 01 Frydek-Mistek; tel. 0658/20741.
- Interested: Okresni Vlastivedne Muzeum, dir. Engineer Kavalek, Namesti cp.1264, 738 01 Frydek-Mistek; tel. 0658/22750.
- Caretaker with key: Engineer Oldrich Vrubel, Stare mesto 414, 738 01 Frydek-Mistek; tel. 0.
Earliest known Jewish community was second half of the 19th century. Jewish population: 262 + 227 (in 1890). 1930 Jewish population was 432. The Jewish community originated in 1881. The unlandmarked Conservative cemetery dates from 1882 with last known Jewish burial in 1960s or 1970s. The flat and isolated suburban land has no sign but has Jewish symbols on the gate/wall. Reached off a public road, access is open with permission via a continuous masonry wall, fence, and locking gate. The size of cemetery before WWII and now is 1.4674 ha.
The 100-500 gravestones are in original location, with less than 25% toppled or broken, date from after 1882, with tombstones dating from the 19th and 20th centuries. The marble and granite flat shaped stones, finely smoothed and inscribed stones, multi-stone monuments, or obelisks have inscriptions in Hebrew, German and Czech. Some tombstones have iron and bronze decorations/lettering and/or metal fences around graves. Within the limits of the cemetery is a pre-burial house. Ostrava Jewish community owns the property used as a Jewish cemetery only. Adjacent properties are agricultural and residential. Occasionally, private visitors stop. It was vandalized between 1945 and 1980. Jewish groups of the Czech Republic cleared the vegetation. Ostrava Jewish Congregation pays a regular caretaker. Slight threats facing this cemetery are weather erosion, vandalism, and incompatible nearby developments (existing/planned/proposed). Vegetation overgrowth in the cemetery is a seasonal problem, preventing access.
Engineer Arch. Jaroslav Klenovsky, Zebetinska 13, 623 00 Brno; tel. 0 completed survey on January 3, 1992. Documentation: Herman book. Other documentation exists, but was too old. Klenovsky visited site in 1987 and 1990.
UPDATE: "Petr Bachrach of the Jewish community in the north Moravian town of in Ostrava reported that the 19th-century cemetery in Frydek Mistek was vandalized in mid-September. Eighty of the approximately 200 gravestones in the cemetery were overturned and/or broken. The town is located 210 miles east of Prague. The cemetery, neglected during decades of communist rule, had been under repair for the last month." Jewish Heritage Report, Vol. I, Nos. 3-4 / Winter 1997-98. [March 2002]