population: 2,680 (2005). It was founded in 1714. town website. map to Jewish cemetery founded in 1887.
US Commission No. CZCE000201
Alternate name: Gross-Karlowitz in German. Velke Karlovice is located in Morava-Vsetin at 49º20 18º18, 60 km S of Ostrava. Cemetery: 1 km W. Present town population is 1,000-5,000 with no Jews.
- Town: Mayor Zdenek Svajda, Obecni urad, 756 06 Velke Karlovice; tel. 0657/94224.
- Regional: Engineer Pavlina Pospisilova, Okresni Urad-Referat Kultury, 755 00 Vsetin; tel. 0657/4001.
- Interested: Okresni Vlastivedne Muzeu, dir. Aloisie Rambosskova, Horni namesti 2, 755 00 Vsetin; tel. 0657/2713. Mrs. Mickalova, Podtate, 756 06 Velke Karlovice; tel. 0.
Earliest known Jewish community was second half of 19th century. 1930 Jewish population was 27. Jewish community was established in 1888 with pogrom in 1918. Salomoun Reich, 19th century factory owner, lived here. The unlandmarked Jewish cemetery originated in 1887 with last known Jewish burial in 1930. No other towns or villages used this cemetery. Between fields and woods, the flat isolated site has no sign or marker. Reached by turning directly off a public road, access is open to all via a broken fence with non-locking gates. The pre- and post-WWII size of cemetery is 0.192 ha.
20-100 stones, all in original location, date from 1888-20th century. The marble and granite flat shaped stones or finely smoothed and inscribed stones have German and Czech inscriptions. Some have bronze decorations or lettering and/or metal fences around graves. The cemetery contains no special memorial monuments, known mass graves, or structures. The municipality owns Jewish cemetery property. Adjacent properties are agricultural. Rarely, private visitors stop. Vandalism occurred 1945-1981. The work was done by local/municipal authorities and Jewish groups within country. Restoration was done in 1980s. Now, there is occasional clearing or cleaning by individuals. Moderate threat: uncontrolled access, vegetation and vandalism. Slight threat: weather erosion, pollution, existing and proposed nearby development.
Engineer arch Jaroslav Klenovsky, Zebetinska 13, 623 00 Brno; tel. 0 completed survey on 1 March 1992. Documentation: Jan Herman: Jewish Cemeteries in Bohemia and Moravia (1980). Other exisiting documentation was not used. The site was visited by not by Klenovsky and Fiedler. No interviews.