This town in the Central Bohemian Region... at the confluence of the Labe and Vltava rivers is part of the most important agricultural areas of the Czech Republic for fruit, vegetables, potatoes, corn, sugar beets and wine. In the 5th and 6th century many Slavonic tribes lived here. The Pšovans created the main settlement in Mělník. Denar coins of the princess Emma are the first evidence of the existence of Mělník. In November 1274 Mělník gained the statute of town from King Přemysl Otakar II and later became a royal town belonging to Bohemians queens. The castle, confiscated by the communists, has now been restored to its traditional owners, the princes of Lobkowicz. St.Peter and Paul faces the Mělník castle built in the Renaissance style. Below the castle there are large wine cellars. Behind the church is the old school building, now a restaurant with a beautiful view of the river and Hořín park. Near the castle is Villa Carola where the town library is located. Princess Ludmila began viticulture in Mělník. Later the Holy Roman Emperor and Czech king Charles IV continued in this activity, importing vines from Burgundy. Wine-growing continues to be a big tradition in Mělník with a wine-harvest celebration (vinobraní) annually in the autumn. Mělník also is one of the biggest river ports in the Czech Republic with container transshipment. website with pictures and map link. [February 2009]
US Commission No. CZCE000362
Melnik is located in Bohemia at 50°21′7″N 14°28′30″E , 28 km N of center of Praha and 30 km WSW of Mlada Boleslav. Cemetery: 1 km NE of square, in Dobrovskeho Street. Present town population is 5,000-25,000 with none or under 10 Jews.
- Town: Mestsky Urad, namesti Miru 1, 276 01 Melnik; tel. 0206/2050 or 2051 (dept. of culture: tel. 4383).
- Regional: Okresni Urad, Referat Kultury, 276 01 Melnik; tel. 0206/2651 and Zidovska manozenska obec v Praze, Maislova 18, 110 01 Praha 1; tel. 02/231-69-25.
- Interested: Statni Zidovske Muzeum, Jachymova 3, 110 01 Praha 1; tel. 02/231-06-34 or 231-07-85 and District archivist, home: Jiri Rac, 5. Kvetna 110, 276 01 Melnik.
Caretaker with key is found at the gravedigger's house: Dobrovskeho 1743/30, 276 01 Melnik. Earliest known Jewish community was prayer room recorded in 1850. 1930 Jewish population was 94. Before 1848, only 2 Jewish families were permitted. After 1848, Jews moved from the surroundings into Melnik. Peak Jewish population about 1900. The unlandmarked Jewish cemetery originated in 1878 with last known Conservative or Progressive/Reform Jewish burial before 1943. The flat urban cemetery has no sign or marker. Reached by crossing yard of gravedigger's house, access is open with permission via a continuous masonry wall, a continuous fence, and locking gate surround. The pre- and post-WWII size of cemetery is 0.3993 ha.
20-100 stones, most in original locations, date from last quarter of 19th to 20th centuries. The marble, granite, limestone and sandstone flat shaped stones, finely smoothed and inscribed stones or multi-stone monuments have Hebrew, German and Czech inscriptions. Some have metal fences around graves. The cemetery contains no known mass graves. Within the limits of the site are a pre-burial house and a gravedigger's house. Praha Jewish community owns the site used for Jewish cemetery and a run for horses. Adjacent properties are residential. Rarely, private visitors stop. Vandalism occurred occasionally 1945-1991. Jewish groups within the country did periodic restoration. Melnick Jewish community pays the regular caretaker. Moderate threat: vegetation. Slight threat: weather erosion, pollution and vandalism.
Martina Chmelikova, Nad Ondrejovem 16, 140 00 Praha 4; tel. 02/69-20-350 and Jiri Fiedler, z"l, Brdickova 1916, 155 00 Praha 5; tel. 02/55-33-40 completed survey on August 28, 1992. Documentation: census 1830, 1849, 1930; Jahrbuch fur die israelische Cultusgemeinden Bohemens, 1893; Jan Herman: Jewish Cemeteries of Bohemia and Moravia, 1980. Other documentation was inaccessible. No site visits or interviews occurred.