town image.population of approximately 40,000. photo of cemetery and photos with cemetery plan. map to and photos of cemetery. Zamosti is the old Jewish quarter of Trebic and the only Jewish monument outside Israel specifically placed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. It consists of 123 houses (including two synagogues) preserving their historical layout and structure that has developed in the limited area along the Jihlava River. photos. The Jewish Ghetto of Trebic is a well-preserved quarter of vaulted passages, old residences, and little squares with monuments that include the 17th century New Synagogue and the Jewish Cemetery, which with more than 11,000 graves, the largest in the country. Literarily, next door is Basilica Od St. Procopius, in this entire district, the Christian and the Jewish communities co-existed side by side for centuries. photos [February 2009]
Synagogues Without Jews: See maps and photos! "Trěbíč is a highland town near Brno that overlooks the Jihlava Valley. ... earliest date of Jewish settlement in Trěbíč is unclear, its existence in the region is documented from 1286, when a local statute separated the Jews from Christians. ... concentrated into a quarter on the banks of the Jihlava River called Zámostí (behind the bridge). ... close to the castle of the local lord, far from the sight of his visitors, but not beyond the range of his greed. Trěbíč Jews...had to pay for living in peace, as in 1556, when a protection tax was imposed on them to pay for half the expenses of the manorial guards. They also had to pay 120 gold coins annually for the privilege of not lending horses to the manor... taxes levied on them and...cramped conditions in Zámostí, the Jews prospered. By the 16th century they operated most ...commerce and were so successful...the Count of Boskovice would have expelled them from Trěbíč, but [for]... his dependence on the Jewish contribution to the defense of Moravia. ...the Jews of Zámostí suffered cruelty and pillage by Hungarian troops on their way to fight the Turks....Besides commerce, the Jews ... worked in lumber processing, soap manufacture, distilling and tanning...production and export of a fine cloth-trebitscher Tuche... 1642, the kehillah built a substantial synagogue to replace an older wooden one. Originally called the Front Synagogue because of its proximity to Zámostí's entrance, it eventually became known as the Altschul (old synagoge) when a newer synagogue, the Neuschul, was built, also in the 17th century. The Altschul was built higher than the neighboring houses, but because the sight of the Sabbath candles burning brightly in its windows irritated the Countess of the castle, the Jews were forced to lower the building in 1757...... When Count Valdstein took over Trěbíč [1800], ... kehillah that was large and powerful, and ... he tried to enact anti-Jewish measures ..., the Jews initiated court proceedings against him. ... all the way to ...Kaiser Joseph I, who sided with the Jewish community. ... 1821... the community was ordered to refrain from celebrating Purim because it fell on the same day as Holy Friday. The soldiers who came to enforce the law were chased away by the Jews, but later returned to beat many of them with sticks. ...By the end of the 18th century there were 1,770 Jews in the town---59% of the total population....These figures began to decline in 1861, when the Emancipation opened up bigger cities, like Vienna, to Jewish settlement. Even though the Jews enjoyed some power in Trěbíč, their circumstances were still harsh. Every year they could expect the river to flood their homes, and the overcrowding in the ghetto brought unsanitary conditions and illness. By the end of World War I the kehillah ... was down to 344 members. along with 1,370 Jews from the southwest of Moravia, [the Jews] were deported to concentration camps in 1942. A few women returned after the war.... The Altschul was eventually bought by the Czech Brethren in 1952, and used as a church... stripped of all its Jewish associations ... a proposal to demolish the entire ghetto...in the 70's...decided that they would renovate... Now Zámostí is a protected, historic zone, and the Neuschul has been refurbished to serve as a cultural hall and museum. Since 1996... Marta Friedová died, ... no Jews in Trěbíč, but they do have one representative: a lively octogenarian named Bohumír Pavlik. A former teacher, he has worked in the cemetery since his retirement, maintaining the grounds. During Communist rule he hid a few Jewish objects that he restored to the cemetery's ceremonial hall. One of the objects, a black velvet burial cloth used to cover the bier, carries an inscription which could be said to describe Pavlik's work in Trěbíč: "For he will order his angels to guard you wherever you go" (Ps. 91:11)." [February 2009]
US Commission No. CZCE000006
Alternate names: Třebíč [Cz], [Trebitsch Ger]. Trebic is located in Moravia-Trebic at 49°13' N, 15°53' E , 34 miles W of Brno (Brünn). Cemetery: 600 m N. Present town population is 25,000-100,000 with fewer than 10 Jews.
- Town: MV Dr. Pavel Herman, magistrate, Mestsky Urad, Karlovo namesti 56, 674 01 Trebic; tel. 0618/22785.
- Local: Mrs. Drabkova, Mestsky Urad, Karlovo namesti 56, 674 01 Trebic; tel. 0618/6867. Regional: Ph.Dr. Nina Jasova, Okresni Urad-Referat Kultury, namesti CSA 6, 675 01 Trebic; tel. 0618/775.
- Interested: Zapadomoravske Muzeum, zamek, 674 01 Trebic, dire. RNDr. Stanislav Houzar; tel. 0618/21518.
- Caretaker with key Bohumir Pavlik, Hradek 10, 674 01 Trebic; tel. 0.
Earliest known Jewish community was 1410. 1930 Jewish population was 300. Town was destroyed in 1410, 1468, 1599 by fire, 1652 by flood, 1755, 1759, 1821, 1830, 1857, 1862, 1867, 1873; 1890, 1894, and 1906. Rabbis Aron Nepole (1595), Joachim Josef Pollak (1828-79) (buried here), Dr. Samuel Pollak (1842-1906) (also buried here) all lived here.The Jewish cemetery originated in beginning of 17th century with last known Conservative Jewish burial in 1970s. No other towns or villages used this landmarked cemetery (Nr. 3163, 3164). The isolated urban hillside has a Czech sign or plaque mentioning the Jewish community and famous individuals buried in cemetery. 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 11.772 meters sq. ha.
500-5000 stones, most in original location, date from 1625-20th century. The cemetery has old and new sections, special memorial monuments to Holocaust victims and Jewish soldiers, and no known mass graves. Within the limits of the site is a pre-burial house with catafalque and wall inscriptions and a wall of masonry vaults. A lavabo exists. Brno Jewish community owns the Jewish cemetery. Adjacent properties are agricultural. Frequently, organized individual tours, private visitors, and local residents stop. Vandalism occurred 1945-1981. Local non-Jewish residents, local/municipal authorities, regional/national authorities and Jewish groups within country did 1983-1991 restoration. Brno Jewish congregation pays the regular caretaker. Moderate threats: weather erosion and vegetation. Slight threat: vandalism.
Engineer arch. Jaroslav Klenovsky, Zebetinska 13, 623 00 Brno; tel. 0 completed survey on 9.11.1991. Documentation: Jan Herman: Jewish Cemeteries of Bohemia and Moravia (1980), Gold. Other exisiting documentation was not used. No site visits or interviews occurred. The Jewish cemetery in Trebic by Hamackova, Vlastimila; Sedinova Jirina, in Judaica Bohemiae 27 (1991),S82-91. Source: Angelika Ellmann Kruger