Jewish monuments in Boskovice

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The closed Jewish town was established only after 1727. Today, visitors to Boskovice can take advantage of guided tours of the Jewish quarter, which introduce them to the history and life of Jews in Boskovice, including a visit to Jewish monuments.

Jews probably settled in Boskovice already around 1343, when there is evidence of a Jew in Boskovice. Of today’s 79 Jewish houses, twenty are protected as monuments together with other buildings (fountain, butcher shop, gate) as an exceptional urban complex.

Tour circuits:

I. short circuit – a walk through the Jewish quarter with an explanation of the history and life of Jews in Boskovice and information about important Jewish buildings.
Tour duration: approx. 45 minutes

II. circuit with a visit to the interiors of the monuments – a walk through the Jewish quarter with an explanation of the history and life of the Jews in Boskovice with a visit to the maior synagogue and the Jewish ritual bath mikveh.
Tour duration: approx. 90 minutes

III. “Complete” circuit– a walk through the Jewish quarter with an explanation of the history and life of the Jews in Boskovice with a visit to the maior synagogue, the Jewish ritual mikveh bath and the Jewish cemetery.

Synagogue maior, Boskovice
Today the only preserved synagogue in the Jewish town of Boskovice. Its basic part dates from 1639. In 1698, it was extended by a new part towards the square. It is possible to combine a visit to the synagogue with a tour of the Jewish ritual bath – the mikveh, which is located directly opposite in the basement of U Templu No. 3/5.

Boskovice Jewish Cemetery

The Jewish cemetery is located on the southwestern edge of the city in a very rugged terrain. With its total area of 14,528 m2, the Boskovice cemetery ranks among the largest Jewish cemeteries in the Czech lands. The entrance to the cemetery is made up of two wrought-iron gates from 1982. In the middle of the cemetery area are the remains of a ceremonial hall (ohel), to which a stone staircase leads. Until now, we can see two stone tablets with Hebrew liturgical texts. There are about 2,500 tombstones in the cemetery area. The oldest discovered date back to 1670. The most outstanding are the Baroque tombstones of the so-called Mikulov type, decorated with rusticated ornamental elements. A number of important personalities of the local Jewish community are buried at the Boskovice cemetery. The cemetery is protected as a monument and, due to its antiquity, ranks among the unique monuments of its kind in the Czech Republic.