Most of the 16th century ghetto houses remain. The late 17th-century Jewish cemetery [photo and photo] located at Podvalí has Baroque and Classicist tombstones. In the cemetery wall are two gravestones from 1614 and 1615 brought from the old, demolished cemetery. Architect Max Fleischer built a chapel in the Jewish cemetery, reconstructed and open for the public in 1996 with a small exhibit documenting the Jewish community and funeral rites of the former Jewish inhabitants. The Jewish community in 0lomouc manages and repairs the cemetery.
The château built as a hunting lodge later became protected water fort in the second half of the 11th century. In the 15th century, the estates were in the property of the lord of Ctibor of Tovačov and Cimburk, who rebuilt the château from an original gothic fort into an early Renaissance castle and established a town below. The 1492, 96m-high tower called "fair“ dominates the castle and the town, the oldest urbanization in a Renaissance style in the Czech Republic. The town square begun in 1475 has a town hall with its Renaissance portal in the carriage way, a fountain (1694), and a statue (1872). At the beginning of the 16th century, fish-pond (fisheries) was instituted. Hradecký Lake, mentioned first in 1503, exists now with nine lakes established in the 16th century, big dams, and primeval oaks. The last owner was David Guttaman.The château of Tovačov belongs to the most important complexes of architecture in our country and deserves great public attention. The town, surrounded from three quarters with water and meadow woods are also worth to be seen. town website [February 2009]
US Commission No. CZCE000188
- Alternate German name: Tobitschau. Tovacov is located in Moravia-Prerov at 49°25′N 17°17′E , 17 km S of Olomouc. Cemetery: 0.3 km S, Svermova-Str. Present town population is 1,000-5,000 with than 10 Jews.
Town: Magistrate Vladimir Vybira, Mestsky Urad, Namesti c.12, 751 00 Tovacov; tel. 0641/93322.
Regional: mgr. Oleg Dejnega, Okresni Urad-Referat Kultury, Smetanova 7, 750 00 Prerov; tel. 0641/2141.
Interested: Okresni Vlastivedne Muzeum, dir. Ladislav Foukal, Horni namesti 22/23, 750 00 Prerov; tel. 0641/3286.
Caretaker with key: Mila Forhlichova, Svermova 239, 751 01 Tovacov; tel. 0.
Earliest known Jewish community was 1550. 1930 Jewish population was 56. Jewish community was cancelled in 1937. Arnost Forchgott, 1824-74, musician; Sidonie Grunwald-Zertkowitzova, 1852-1907, poetess; Hugo Kauder, 1888-1972, musician lived here. The Jewish cemetery originated in 1650 with last known Conservative Jewish burial in 1941. No other towns or villages used this landmarked cemetery (Nr. 3182 N.M.) The suburban flat isolated site has inscriptions on pre-burial house. Reached by turning directly off a public road, access is open to all via a continuous masonry wall and locking gate. The pre- and post-WWII size of cemetery is 0.3039 ha.
100-500 stones, all in original locations, date from 1683-20th century. The marble, granite, limestone and sandstone flat shaped stones, finely smoothed and inscribed stones and flat stones with carved relief decoration have Hebrew and German inscriptions. Some have traces of painting on their surfaces. The cemetery contains no special memorial monuments or known mass graves but has a pre-burial house with wall inscriptions and other distinctive features. Olomouc Jewish community owns the Jewish cemetery. Adjacent properties are residential. Occasionally, private visitors stop. Vandalism occurred 1945-1981. Local non-Jewish residents, regional/national authorities and Jewish groups within country did restoration in 1980s. There is regular unpaid caretaker. Moderate threats: pollution, vandalism, and existing and proposed nearby development. Slight threats: uncontrolled access, weather erosion and vegetation.
Engineer arch. Jaroslav Klenovsky, Zebetinska 13, 623 00 Brno; tel. 0 completed survey on 1 March 1992. Documentation: Jan Herman: Jewish Cemeteries of Bohemia and Moravia (1980). Other exisiting documentation was not used. No site visits or interviews occurred.