49°12' N 14°13' E, 62.0 miles S of Praha
Source: Wikipedia: Protivín is a small town in the South Bohemian Region with about 5,000 inhabitants known for the Protivín Brewery, which produces a regional beer called Platan. map and photos: "The town of brewing Protivín is situated 12 km south-east of the town Písek in the valley of the Blanice river. It used to be a village with a Gothic castle, first mentioned in 1282. In the 14th century the castle became property of the Rožmberks and later tattached to the domain of the castle town Hluboká nad Vltavou after 1527. From the beginning of the 18th century they were under the ownership of the Schwarzenbergs and the town became a centre of the large domain. In 1715 big fire destroyed most of the town. The former Gothic castle, which stands on the southern outskirts of the present town, was rebuilt into a Renaissance chateau in 1600. Frst reconstructed in the Baroque style at the second half of the 17th century, its present appearance is from the reconstruction under the design of the Schwarzenbergs' architects P. I. Bayer and A. E. Martinelli between 1717 - 1731. The large park can be found behind the chateau. The Early-Baroque St. Elisabeth's Church was founded in the second half of the 17th century on the northern side of the square. The single-aisled church has the rectangular presbytery and it is arched with the barrel vault. The furnishings originate from the Rococo period. The Pseudo-Renaissance school with graffiti, which was built under the design of the Czech painter Mikoláš Aleš, is located on the southern outskirts of Protivín. The oldest brewery in South Bohemia has been working in the town since 1520. The long line of plane trees, which gave the name to the local beer (plane tree = platan in Czech), runs to the brewery. An important Czech poet Jiří Kolář was born in Protivín." [February 2009] NEARBY:
ruins of the Božejovice fortress about 5 km NW of Protivín in the neighbourhood of the settlement Skály.
nature reserve Řežabinec
village Albrechtice nad Vltavou
small village Neznašov
small village Ražice
small town Bavorov
town Vodňany
US Commission No. CZCE000047
[Also used the cemetery at Vodnany before 1878] Protivin is located in Bohemia, Pisek at 49°11′N 14°13′E , 12 km SE of Pisek and 30 km NW of Ceske Budejovice. Cemetery: 2 km NE of the chateau in a forest. Present town population is 1,000-5,000 with no Jews.
- Town: Mestsky Urad, 398 11 Protivin; tel. 0362/923-62 (Office of the Mayor).
- Regional: Zbynek Samsuk (Director) and Jiri Hladky (Inspector for Care of Historical Monuments), Okresni Urad-Referat Kultury, O. Sevcika 207, 397 01 Pisek. Telephones: Samsuk-0362/4384 and Hladky-0362/2321; and Engineer Petr Kotrba, Pamatkovy ustav, namesti Premysla Otokara 34, 370 21 Ceske Budejovice; tel. 038/237-92; and Jewish Congregation: Ms. Jana Wolfova, Zidovska Nabozenska Obec v Prze, Maislova 18, 110 01 Praha 1; tel. 02/231-69-25.
- Interested: Vaclav Bartos, Director, Prachenske Muzeum, Velke namesti 114, 397 01 Pisek; tel. 0362/4731; Statni Zidovske Muzeum, Jachymova 3, 110 01 Praha 1; tel. 02/231-06-34 or 231-07-85. Local minister of Methodist Church: Alena Prochazkova, Mirova 171, 398 11 Protivin. Owner of former Jewish prayer-hall: Bohumir Kostel, Nemcova 546, 398 11 Protivin.
Earliest known Jewish community was prayer room recorded in 1724 but congregation was recorded in first half of 19th century. 1930 Jewish population was 12 with scanty congregation. Peak Jewish population was probably in last quarter of 19th century. Last prayer-hall closed in 1923. Seat of regional congregation in 20th century was in Vodnany, 6 km away. Jewish resident Josef Holub, the oldest living Austrian citizen, was born in Protivin and died in Vienna in 1956 at age of 104. The unlandmarked Jewish cemetery originated in 1878 with last known Conservative or Progressive/Reform Jewish burial probably in 1942. The wooded hillside, separate but near cemeteries, 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 0.0716 ha.
20-100 tombstones in 22 pieces, with about half in original location and over 75% toppled or broken, date from last quarter of 19th-20th century. The granite, limestone and sandstonefinely smoothed and inscribed stones, flat stones with carved relief decoration or multi-stone monuments have Hebrew, German and Czech inscriptions. The cemetery contains no known mass graves or structures. Praha Jewish community owns cemetery. Adjacent properties are woods. Rarely, private visitors and local residents stop. Vandalism occurred occasionally 1945-1991 with no maintenance. Serious threat: pollution and vandalism. Slight threat: weather erosion and vegetation.
Vlastmila Hamackova, Zabelska 37, Martina Chmelikova, Nad Ondrejovem 16, 140 00 Praha 4; tel. 02/69-20-350 and Jiri Fiedler, z"l, Brickova 1916, 155 00 Praha 5; tel. 02/55-33-40 completed survey on 20 August 1992. Documentation: censuses of 1724, 1872, and 1930; Hugo Gold: Die Juden und Judengemeinden Bohemens…(1934); Jan Herman: Jewish Cemeteries in Bohemia and Moravia (1980); 1983 letter of A. Prochazkova and 1983 letter of B. Kostel. No site visits or interviews occurred.