Jewish communities and sites in Bohemia and Moravia

In the thirteenth century, Jewish communities established themselves for the most part in fortified royal towns. Prague appears always to have been the largest and most influential example, but significant communities also arose in Brno, Cheb (Eger), Příbram, Plzeň (Pilsen), Jihlava (Iglau), Znojmo (Znaim), Olomouc, and elsewhere..

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Whereas Bohemian and Moravian Jewry had been predominantly rural and small town, modern Czech Jewry was decidedly urban. More than one-third of the Jewish population of Bohemia in 1910 lived in Prague; nearly 70 percent lived in towns of more than 10,000 people. Seven decades earlier, there had been 347 separate Jewish communities in Bohemia alone, only 22 of which had a population of more than 50.

Full article on the Jews of Bohemia and Moravia at the YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe.

The list of localities below with Jewish significance in Bohemia, Moravia and the former Austrian Silesia is found in the guide: Jewish Sights of Bohemia and Moravia, written and compiled by Jiří Fiedler and published in 1991. A history of the Jewish settlement in Bohemia and Moravia by Arno Pařík is included. The information for localities in the book was gathered over many years beginning in the 1970's and continuing into the 1990's. Mr. Fiedler took on significant risks to collect the information amid the Communist era and while on bicycle for much of the journey! His life's work and contributions to Czech Jewish cultural history are highly valued resources and more can be found on his many contributions here at the Prague Jewish Museum website.