1900 Jewish population: 8,238.Alternate names: Brno [Cz], Brünn [Ger], Berno, Berno Morawskie [Pol] Encyclopedia of Jewish Life (2001), pp. 199-200: "Brno". Czech Republic's second largest town and Moravia’s traditional capital, Brno was also the historic seat of the Přemyslid dynasty. King Wenceslas I awarded Brno municipal status as early as 1243.The city’s skyline is dominated by early-GothicSpilberk Castle with two chapels. The late-19th century Klein Palace was among the first structures built with modern technology (cast iron features, flushable toilets); the Mahen Theater was the first theater in the country to use electricity throughout the building. Art Nouveau, early modernist and functionalist structures exist including German architect Mies van der Rohe's 1929 Villa Tugendhat, an outstanding example of functionalist architecture and a milestone in the development of modern architecture. Brno is the seat of the South Moravian Regional Administration (hejtmanstvi Jihomoravského kraje.) [February 2009]
April 23, 2007 - Brno - Vandals sprayed Nazi and racist symbols throughout the city. The graffiti, including swastikas, SS symbols and the German phrase "Juden raus," appeared on a memorial to victims of World War II, storefront windows, roads and other locations. [February 2009]
Jewish Community website in Czech and cemetery ceremonial hall photo [February 2009]
CEMETERY:
Epitaphs: Brno Jewish Cemetery.Other cemetery epitaphs. Which is unclear.[July 2015]
US Commission Sruvey No. CZCE000026
Alternate names: Bruenn. The town is located in the province of Moravia at 49°12' N, 16°38' E, 200 km SE of Praha. The cemetery is 3 km E, at 27 Nezamyslova St. Present town population is over 100,000 with 100-1,000 Jews.
- Local: Eng. Architect Vaclav Menel, mayor, Urad Mesta Brna, Dominikanske namesti 1, 60200 Brno; tel. 05/2196.
- The local official responsible for the site is Jana Severinova, Urad Mesta Brna-Referat Kultury, Zelny trh 12/13, 602 00 Brno; tel. 05/24411.
- Interested: Muzeum mesta Brna, hrad Spilberk, 60200 Brno, dir. PhDr. Dusan Uhlir; tel. 05/24815.
- Key is with caretaker, Robert Randa, Nezamyslova 71, 61500 Brno; tel. 05/535103.
Earliest known Jewish community was in 1238. 1900 Jewish population: 8,238. There were 10,860 Jews [sic]. Effecting Jewish community: banishing in 1454, 1848 grant of residence, establishing of Jewish community 1859. Noteworthy individuals included Rabbis Israel de Bruna (15th cent.), Dr. Richard Feder (1875-1970), player Hugo Haas (1901-1968), musician Pavel Haas, architect Arnost Wiesner. Cemetery originated 1852. Buried in Conservative cemetery include R. Feder (1970), H. Haas (1968), Alexandr Neufeld and Bedrich Bass. Last known Jewish burial was 1991. Landmark protected (Nr. 0304). The isolated flat urban site has a sign marking the cemetery in Czech, which mentions the Jewish community and famous people buried in the cemetery. There is an inscription on the pre-burial house. Reached by turning directly off a public road, access is open to all. The original and current size of the cemetery is 28.384 sq. m. O
ver 500 stones in original location with less than 25% toppled or broken, date from 1852. The cemetery is divided into sections, including children, military and an urn grove. The marble, granite, limestone and sandstone flat shaped stones, finely smoothed and inscribed stones, flat stones with carved relief decoration or multi-stone monuments have Hebrew, German and Czech inscriptions. Some have iron decorations or lettering, bronze decorations or lettering, portraits on stone, and/or metal fences around graves. The cemetery has a special memorial monument to Holocaust victims but no known mass graves. Praha Jewish community owns the Jewish cemetery. Properties adjacent are residential. Frequently, organized Jewish group tours or pilgrimages, organized individual tours and private visitors stop. It was vandalized between 1945 and 1882 and occasionally in the last 10 years. Local non-Jewish residents, regional or national authorities, and Jewish groups and individuals within the country re-erected and cleaned stones cleared vegetation, and fixed wall. Brno Jewish community has paid for annual work. Structures in the cemetery include a pre-burial house, more than one ohel, and the caretaker's apartment. The pre-burial house has a tahara (table), a catafalque and wall inscriptions. Moderate threat: vegetation. Vegetation is a constant problem, disturbing graves. Weather erosion and vandalism are slight threats.
Eng. Architect Jaroslav Klenovsky, Zebetinska 13, 623 00 Brno, tel 0 completed on Nov. 9, 1991 after a visit in October of that year. Documentation: Jan Herman: Jewish Cemeteries (1980), and Gold. Other documentation was too old. END
Located in a district close to the central train station. One can reach the cemetery by taking tram #8 five stops to reach Stejskalova Street. The cemetery is just to the left of this stop. The gate is open during visiting hours (closed Saturdays) that vary seasonally: October to March (fall and winter): Sunday through Thursday 8 am to 6 PM, Friday 8 am to 4 PM and April through September (springtime and summer) Sunday through Thursday 8 am to 4 PM, Friday 8 am to 3 PM. The grave keeper who is sometimes at the premises can instruct visitors about finding graves. At the entrance is a very good map that shows the location of all plots. The cemetery is well kept, clean even in winter with no signs of vandalism. The area is quite large, surrounded by a brick wall, with 2 to 3 thousand graves dated from early 19th century to today. The place is still in use. Not far from the entrance there is a Holocaust memorial. Source: Tom Venetianer; e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. [date of report?]
Cemetery: 27 Nezamyslova, in the province of Moravia. Present town population over 100,000. The synagogue at Skorepka 13, Brno may have an interest in the cemetery but is not responsible for it. Caretaker Pani Randova lives on the site and maintains a list of names of those buried there. The cemetery originated before 1855. One grave 1853-1855 was legible. Noteworthy Jews buried there include Hugo Haas-"Filmovy Herec", Dr. Feder-"Virchni Rabin" and A Newfeld-"Vrchi Kantor Junkraje". The still active cemetery has 1995 burials visible. A five minutes by tram from the current congregation, the isolated suburban area has a sign or plaque in Czech mentioning famous individuals buried there and hours. Reached by turning directly off a public road, access is open to all during certain hours. It is apparently surrounded by a continuous masonry wall (did not walk entire perimeter) and locking gate.
500-5000 gravestones, about 100-500 not in original locations with less than 25% toppled or broken. have men and women buried together. Vegetation is a constant problem. The marble, granite, limestone, sandstone and slate rough stones or boulders, flat shaped stones, finely smoothed and inscribed stones, flat stones with carved relief decoration, double tombstones, sculpted monuments, or obelisks have I Hebrew, German and Czech inscriptions. Some have iron decorations or lettering and/or other metallic elements, portraits on stones and/or metal fences around graves. There are no known mass graves. It is used for a Jewish cemetery only, but at row 20 is an apparent dumpsite on 6 to 8 graves in the middle of the row. Adjacent properties are residential. Apparently the same size as in 1939, some parts of the cemetery are visited frequently. There has been some apparent clearing of stones and fixing of the wall. Within the cemetery are a pre-burial house and a chapel with wall inscriptions.
Elizabeth Margosches, 2509 Crest St. Alexandria, VA 22302, (703) 931-8135 completed this form on June 13, 1996 when she visited site with Don Melman (same address). Pani Randova was interviewed on the site.
[UPDATE] Hope for the Future in Brno's Jewish Cemetery [June 2017]