The Jewish community will continue the revitalization of the cemetery in Litomyšl

Litomyšl - The Jewish community will continue the revitalization of the Jewish cemetery in Litomyšl in collaboration with the city hall and other institutions. It has been gradually repaired for many years, and now it should be more open to the public. Local school students will also participate in this effort.

"We will remove invasive trees from the cemetery and its immediate surroundings, and we will start eliminating vegetation that is damaging the gravestones. The first phase of work will take place in the autumn of this year," said Martin Růžička from the Jewish community. It will also be necessary to secure the mortuary, which is currently open, and it is essential to appoint a caretaker for the cemetery.

The Jewish community will involve students in the work. Together with them, they will create and place informational materials that will provide visitors with information about the history of the local Jewish community. They will prepare lectures and guided tours of the cemetery for the public. Students from the faculty of restoration will attempt to restore several gravestones that were destroyed by vandals. A project called "Disappeared Neighbors" has also been ongoing in the city for several years, which deals with the Holocaust period in the city and maps the fates of individual deported Jews.

The Jewish cemetery is located in fields in the local part of Lány. It was established in 1876, and the oldest preserved gravestones date back to 1876 and 1877. During World War II, the cemetery was significantly damaged, and the last burial took place there in 1942. Since the war, it has remained in a derelict state for several decades. During the communist period, it was damaged by water flowing from adjacent fields, causing some graves to collapse and even washing away the remains of those buried. Some gravestones were stolen, the surrounding wall has crumbled, but it is gradually being repaired. According to Růžička, this cemetery is one of the most devastated Jewish cemeteries in the Czech Republic.