US Commission No. CZCE000013
Alternate name: Steingrub in German. Lomnicka is located in Bohemia, Cheb at 50º12, 15 km N of Cheb. Cemetery: 600 meters SW. Present town population is under 1,000 with no Jews.
- Local: Obecni urad, Lomnicka, 351 35 Plesna u Chebu.
- Regional: Okresni urad, obdor kultury, Obrnene brigady street 30, 350 02 Cheb.
- Interested: Chebske Muzeum, namesti Jiriho z Podebrad 3, 350 11 Cheb.
Earliest known Jewish community was about 1835. 1930 Jewish population was 0. The Jewish community disbanded about 1893. This was the birthplace of Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise (1819-1900), founding father of American Reform Judaism, UAHC and HUC in Cincinnatti. The Jewish cemetery originated before 1837. Buried in the cemetery are relatives of Rabbi Wise. Oldest legible tombstone is 1892. Probably, a Conservative Jewish community used this unlandmarked cemetery as did Fratiskovy Lazne (Franzensbad in German); Kraslice (Graslitz in German) 10 km; 15 km away. Between fields and woods, the flat isolated site has no sign or marker. Reached by turning directly off a public road, access is open to all via a broken masonry wall without gate. The pre- and post-WWII size of cemetery is 1500 sq. m.
20-100 stones, most in original locations, date from 19th century. The granite and sandstone flat shaped stones, finely smoothed and inscribed stones, flat stones with carved relief decoration, double tombstones, or multi-stone monuments have Hebrew and German inscriptions. The cemetery contains no known mass graves or structures. Plzen Jewish community owns the Jewish cemetery. Adjacent properties are agricultural and forest. Rarely, organized Jewish tours or pilgrimage groups (Americans), Jewish or non-Jewish private visitors and local residents stop. Nazis vandalized the cemetery prior to World War II-1938, probably occasionally 1981-91 and 1945-1981 with no maintenance. Moderate threat: uncontrolled access and vandalism. Slight threat: weather erosion and pollution.
Jiri Fiedler, z"l completed survey on January 30, 1992. Documentation: biography of Rabbi Wise, notes of Statni Zidovske Muzeum (about 1960), and land register of 1842. The site was not visited. Interviewed were Mestske Muzeum, Frantiskovy Lazne, 1983.