Cemeteries
The Jewish cemetery, claimed by Dr. Bransky to be the third largest Jewish cemetery in
today's Czech Republic, is about 800 metres (southwest of the town) down the end of
Plackova Street on a hillside with the intriguing name of "Scheissberg," colloquially
known as "the mountain of shit." We entered with a key Dr. Bransky arranged via the
Information Centre. The 2500 tombstones are in reasonable condition, some better than
others. Many of the older sandstone tombstones are crumbling. Some gravestones have
fallen over and some have been desecrated by vandals. The later marble gravestones in
are in quite good condition, although the ivy and other vegetation is now spreading
across the entire hillside. About 12,000 people are buried in this cemetery.
The local town authorities have given priority to repairing the synagogue, so the
cemetery remains under threat of further deterioration in future. No manager exists
and there is no plan of the cemetery available either. There are no existing cemetery
records for Boskovice in the Jewish Museum in Prague. Some of the death records are
listed in the registers held at the Prague State Archives. See Genealogical Resources for more details.
The cemetery on Potocni St. was founded no later than the 16th century on an area of 14,528 sq. m., with the oldest existing grave dating to 1670. The ruins of a Chevra Khaddisha are in the middle of the cemetery, with the Kaddish inscription and the dedication stone still remaining.