Boskovice

Boskovice had a Jewish community from the fifteenth century which by the nineteenth was among the largest in Moravia, occupying its own quarter of about a hundred and thirty houses laid out below the town, and that quarter survives largely intact - streets, houses, the ritual bath, the rabbinate and the synagogue of 1639 with painted Hebrew inscriptions on its walls, restored and open. It is one of the most complete Jewish quarters left in Central Europe, and the cemetery above it holds around two and a half thousand stones from 1622 onward. The town also has a large castle ruin on the hill and, below it, an Empire chateau of 1826 built by the Dietrichstein family with furnished interiors. The Boskovice festival, held each July, uses the Jewish quarter and mixes music, film and discussion of minority history.

History

Boskovice was probably founded in the 13th century as a market village; it is first mentioned in 1222, when the lord Jimram of Boskovice witnessed a deed of King Ottokar I, and its castle in 1313. It was made a town under Maria Theresa. Jews are recorded here from 1343, many came after they were driven from Brno in 1454, and the community was established in the first half of the 16th century; a closed Jewish quarter with two gates was set up in 1727, after 1848 it became a separate municipality with its own mayor, and at its peak in 1857 more than 1,800 Jews lived here, one of the largest communities in Moravia. From 1848 until 1960 Boskovice was a district town (Wikipedia, Boskovice).

What you'll find

• A near-complete Jewish quarter - about 130 houses, the ritual bath and rabbinate.
• A synagogue of 1639 - painted Hebrew inscriptions on the restored walls.
• A cemetery of 2,500 stones - the oldest from 1622, on the slope above.
• A castle ruin and Empire chateau - the two on the hill above the town.

When to go

May to September; the festival in July. A day.

What to expect

The synagogue closes on Saturdays and keeps seasonal hours. Many houses in the quarter are private homes. Chateau and castle are separate tickets. Festival week fills the town.

Nearby

The Moravian Karst is south; Blansko is on the way to Brno.

Key facts