US Commission No. CZCE000125
Alternate name: Luck in German. Luka is located in Bohemia, Karlovy Vary at 50º10 13º10, 20 km SE of Karlovy Vary. Cemetery: 800 meters W. Present town population is under 1,000 with no Jews.
- Town: Obecni urad, 364 56 Luka.
- Regional: Okresni Urad, Referat Kultury, 360 01 Karlovy Vary AND Zidovska Nabozenska Obec, Smetanovy sady 5, 301 37 Plzen; tel. 019/357-49.
- Interested: Karlovarske Muzeum, Zamecky vrch 2, 360 01 Karlovy Vary; tel. 017/269-95 AND Statni Zidovske Muzeum, Jachymova 3, 110 01 Praha 1; tel. 02/231-06-34.
Earliest known Jewish community was mid-15th century. 1930 Jewish population was 21. Jews moved to bigger towns in the second half of the 19th century. The Jewish cemetery was possibly of medieval origin with last known Conservative Jewish burial before 1940. Struzna (Giesshubel in German), Bochov (Buchau), Udrc (Udritsch); Kozlov (Gosslau); Budov (Buda), 2-11 km away, used this unlandmarked cemetery. The flat isolated rural (agricultural) site has no sign or marker. Reached by turning directly off a public road, access is open to all via a continuous masonry wall and non-locking gate. The pre- and post-WWII size of cemetery is 1690 sq. m. No stones or known mass graves exist but a pre-burial house-ruin does. Plzen Jewish community owns site used only as a Jewish cemetery. Adjacent properties are agricultural. Occasionally, Jewish or non-Jewish private visitors stop. Vandalism occurred prior to World War II (tombstones taken away by Nazis) and 1945-1981 (last tombstone stolen after 1965). Moderate threat: uncontrolled access and proposed nearby development. Slight threat: weather erosion, pollution and vegetation.
Jiri Fiedler, z"l, Brdickova 1916, 155 00 Praha 5; tel. 02/553340 completed survey on May 18, 1992. Documentation: Hugo Gold: Die Juden and Judengemeinden Bohemens, 1934; notes of Statni Zidovske Muzeum Praha, 1965. Heimatbuch des Kreises Luditz, 1971; cadastre of 1841; census. The site was not visited. The Catholic rector of Chyse, now deceased, was interviewed in 1983.