Z průzkumů židovských hřbitovů. Židovské hřbitovy v Nové Cerekvi

Zprávy památkové péče 2014, 74(2):139-145

Surveys of Jewish cemeteries. Jewish cemeteries in Nová Cerekev

Iva Steinová

The Jewish settlement in Nová Cerekev has its origins in the late 17 th century. We specifically know about the first four families from the late 17 th and early 18th century including their origin, which allows for a good idea to be created about the origins of the community. The prayer room already functioned at the time, and the cemetery was established.
The Jewish cemetery is located near the synagogue and covers a quite unusual L-shape. It consists of two separate parts, the old and the new cemetery, joined by a narrow passage. The old cemetery was used for nearly three hundred years and holds 138 surviving tombstones. In 1866 a northern cemetery was opened to the north and was used for burials for approximately seventy years.
The oldest preserved stone is the tombstone of Avraham, the son of Josef Elija Sg"l. By comparing the epitaphs with written sources, one of the four original Jewish families could be identified at the cemetery. At least one tenth of the surviving tombstones in the old Jewish cemetery in Nová Cerekev consists of tombstones of priests (Kohanim). Such a high proportion of priest tombstones is, in comparison with other Jewish cemeteries in our area, quite extraordinary. One of the priests was Mordechai, the son of Yissachar K"c, buried in 1797. The Levi symbol of the pot indicates that the deceased belonged to the tribe of Levi.
The iconographic less common motifs include the sign of a wine grape, found on the steles of the Rübenstein spouses from 1857. In this case, the bunch of grapes symbolizes the surname of those buried. The documentation of the tombstones has shown us of the existence of two rabbis who worked in Nová Cerekev in the first half of the 19 th century (Rabbi Zalman Rosenzweig, 1833, tombstone No. 63; Rabbi Meir Kadisch, 1842).
In 1866, a new cemetery opened to the north and was used for burials for approximately seventy years. Its surface holds 276 tombstones. The southern part was filled by the late 19 th century while the northern part began to be used in the 20 th century. One of the oldest tombstones in the new cemetery is that of Wolf Hirsch Koppler (1866). The middle of the southern part of the new cemetery was set aside for the burial sites of the prominent representatives of the community. In 1881, the longtime local rabbi Yitzhak Pollatschek was buried here, who had served his position for 42 years. Three other rabbis were buried in the northern part of the new cemetery in the 1920's and 30's (Bohumil Aron, 1924; Leopold Pollak, 1926; Karel Freud, 1936).
A popular feature of modern Jewish cemeteries was porcelain medallions with photos that were supposed to be reminders of the appearance of the deceased. One of them is located on the tombstone of Josef S. Kohn (1875). Visually interesting gravestones in Neo-Gothic style are those of Mr. and Mrs. Josef and Sara Kohn (1871).
The cemetery also holds the urn of one of the founders of Czech modern painting, Alfred Justitz (1879-1934). He was born in Nová Cerekev into a family of doctors, devoted himself to painting, and was most influenced by Paul Cézanne. The work of Alfred Justitz peaked in the early 1930's. In 1933 the artist fell ill and left to be cured in Bratislava, where he died in February of 1934. Justitz's remains were cremated in Brno in 1935 and placed in the new cemetery in Nová Cerekev. His tombstone, as a simple post, bears the sign of the Freemasons and slogan of the Prague Masonic lodge Sibi et Posteris - to ourselves and those after us.
At present, the monumental synagogue, built in 1855 by the architect Arnošt Walser, is undergoing restoration as part of the revitalization project to make it available to the public. Both surviving monuments, the synagogue and Jewish cemetery, are a testament to the Jewish history of Nová Cerekev.