PUKLICE JEWISH QUARTER AND CEMETERY

The first Jews settled in Puklice in the Jihlava region in 1425. For the purpose of trade, they still travelled to Jihlava. Their houses were concentrated in the central-eastern part of the Lower Village. The construction is preserved in the urban concept, only two houses were demolished during the construction of a supermarket, but the individual buildings were modified and modernized.

The first mention of a synagogue is from 1722, being a modification of one building into a prayer room with baroque vaults in the attic. At that time, it was the oldest synagogue in Moravia. On the ground floor of the house there was a ritual bakery and a schoolroom, the stairs to the first floor provided access to a prayer room for men, connected to a small room for women by a barred window. In 1927 Salomon Kohn bought the building, which was no longer used religiously, and established a warehouse and granary there. After World War II the temple was converted into a residential house.

The local Jewish cemetery is considered one of the oldest in Moravia. The oldest tombstone is dated 1426. Though the year 1421 is sometimes mentioned it is more likely that 1426 is the year in which the Jews were expelled from Jihlava. The oldest legible tombstone is from 1699. There used to be a mortuary here and the cemetery wall has been preserved only in fragments. Today the individual tombstones have been repaired and erected again.