48. Zběšičky

Jews in Zběšičky were documented in written sources from the first half of the 18th century. The Theresa Cadaster from this period mentions a single Jewish tanner, so one Jewish family probably lived here, then in 1793 there were 9 Jewish families here. In 1880, there were 25 Jews, 10 Jews in 1890, 6 Jews in 1900, 2 Jews in 1910, and apparently none after that.

Jewish houses. In the 1780’s, there were 4 Jewish houses in the village; there were about 12 Jewish houses around the middle of the 19th century which created an irregular cluster in the eastern and northeastern part of the village and were mostly built of wood. Part of them are still preserved as reconstructions. There is very little information about the  synagogue; not even its date of construction is known. We know only is that it was all wooden and that there was a partition inside which divided the prayer hall into two parts: one for men and the other for women. In 1866 this synagogue burned down and was not rebuilt.

The Jewish cemetery is located 500 meters northwest of the village, near a field road leading from the road between Veselíčko and Zběšičky towards the Zavadil pond, on the edge of a forested hillside. It was founded in the middle of the 18th century and later enlarged. About 150 tombstones have been preserved over an area of 1,029 square meters since the establishment of the graveyard until 1932. The mortuary at the entrance has been reconstructed. The cemetery is freely accessible. Neighboring Veselíčko was the seat of an independent Jewish community in the 19th century. The Jewish houses were centered along the eastern shore of the pond, northeast of the castle. Before the middle of the 19th century there were ten Jewish houses here, some of which are still preserved as reconstructions. 

The synagogue from the first half of the 19th century was demolished in 1986.

Interesting: At the Jewish cemetery in Zběšičky, the tomb of the Rosezweig family bears the symbol of a rose. This was a symbol of fragility, or perhaps of the young age and beauty of the deceased.

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