US Commission No. ZECH000258
Pravonin is located in Bohemia, Benesov at 49°38 14°57, 23 km SE of Benesov and 52 km WNW of Jihlava. Cemetery: 1 km N. Present town population is under 1,000 with no Jews.
- Town: Obecni urad, 257 09 Pravonin.
- Regional: Jewish congregation: ZNO Praha (Ms. Jana Wolfova), Maislova 18, 110 01 Praha 1; tel. 02/2318664; Okresni Urad Referat Kultury, 256 01 Benesov u Prahy; and PhDr Jiri Tywoniak (District Conservator of Monuments) 256 01 Benesov u Prahy; tel. 0301/23618.
- Interested: Okresni Muzeum Benesov, Male nemesti 74, 256 01 Benesov u Prahy and Statni Zidovske Muzeum, Jachymova 3, 110 01 Praha 1; tel. 02/2310634. Ladislav Hejny, Pravonin 99, 257 09 Pravonin and Stanislav Lejcko, former historian of Miretice, Miretice 37, 257 64 Zdislavice.
Earliest known Jewish community was probably 18th century. 1930 Jewish population was 9. Jews moved to big towns after 1848; independent Jewish congregation disbanded before 1920. The unlandmarked Jewish cemetery originated between 1735-1837. Ancestors of composer Gustav Mahler were buried here with last known Conservative Jewish burial in 1933. Chmelna, 4 km away, used site. 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 broken masonry wall without gate. The pre- and post-WWII size of cemetery is 0.1457 ha.
20-100 stones date from first half of 19th-20th century. The granite and sandstone flat shaped stones, finely smoothed and inscribed stones, flat stones with carved relief decoration or multi-stone monuments have Hebrew, German and Czech inscriptions. Some have traces of painting on their surfaces. The cemetery contains no known mass graves or structures. Prague Jewish community owns the Jewish cemetery. Adjacent properties are agricultural. Rarely, private visitors and local residents stop. Vandalism occurred during World War II and 1945-1981 with no maintenance. Very serious threat: vegetation. Moderate threat: weather erosion, pollution and vandalism. Slight threat: uncontrolled access and existing nearby development.
Ladislav Mertl, Mgr. of Geography, Kubanske namesti 1322/17, Praha 10-Vrsovice, tel/02/743213 and Jiri Fiedler, z"l, Brdickova 1916, 155 00 Praha 5, tel/02/55-33-40 completed survey on June 1992. Documentation: Jewish Cemeteries in Bohemia and Moravia(1980); Letter of S. Lejcko (1984); cadastre of 1838, 1876; and census of 1724, 1835, 1930, 1991. Other documentation was inaccessible. The site was not visited. L. Hejny in Pravonin was interviewed 05-23-92.