town image [February 2009]

Alternate names: Kroměříž [Cz], Kremsier [Ger]. On the Morava River, northeast of Brno, the Jewish community (one of the oldest in Europe) dated from 1322. 783 was the Jewish population in 1880. The 1930 Jewish population of 382 was about 12% of the total population.  The Jews were deported in 1942. The synagogue contents were sent the the Central Jewish Museum in Prague.[February 2009]

"ˈkromɲɛr̝iːʃ] in Czech; German: Kremsier, Polish: Kromieryż) . The town's main landmark is the Baroque Kroměříž Bishop's Palace, where some scenes from Amadeus and Immortal Beloved were filmed. The adjacent Lustgarten, or Pleasure Park, is one of the World Heritage Sites.
The town was founded in 1260 by Bruno ze Schauenburku, bishop of Olomouc. Bruno chose Kroměříž to become his see and he also made his castle the centre of his dominion which consisted of more than 60 vassals from the whole of Moravia. Kroměříž is referred to as a market village in a document by Přemysl Otakar II from 1256, but in 1266 it is called a town. Bruno also established what was to become the famous Archbishops Palace. The town was badly damaged in Thirty Years' War, was plundered twice by Swedish troops (1643 and 1645), after this Black Death came. Bishop Karel II. z Lichtenštejna rebuilt the city and palace after the war. Constitutive Imperial Congress was sitting in Kroměříž in 1848. Wikipedia. [February 2009]
Town website. [February 2009]

KROMERIZ: (I) US Commission No. CZCE000015
Alternate name: Kromenz, Kresier (German). Town is in Morava-Kromeriz at 49º17 17º22, 335 miles ENE of Brno (Brünn), 17 miles SE of Prostějov (Prossnitz).  Old Cemetery: 0.8 km S, Dykova Str. Present population is 25,000-100,000 with fewer than 10 Jews.

• Town: Mayor Engineer Petr Kvapilik, Mestsky Urad, Velke nam.cp.115, 767 01 Kromeriz; tel. 0634/20540.
  
• Regional: Marie Docekalova, Okresni Urad-Referat Kultury, Husovo nam., 767 01 Kromeriz; tel. 0634/514.
  
• Interested: Muzeum Kromerizska, dir. Mgr. Vaclav Tomasek, Velke nam.38, 767 01 Kromeriz; tel. 0634/21457. Also may have information: PhDr. Josef Svatek, U potoka 1349, 769 01 Holesov; tel. 0635/2146 and Hanus Bermann, Vrchlickeho 6, 767 01 Kromeriz; tel. 0634/20413.

Earliest known Jewish community was in 1322. 1930 Jewish population was 382. A pogrom occurred in 1742. Noteworthy individuals: Dr. Adolf Frankl-Grun, rabbi, 1847-1916; Emanuel Baumgarten, publicist; Max Grunfeld, historian; and Adolf Donath, art historian. The unlandmarked Jewish cemetery originated in 1849 with last known Conservative Jewish burial in 1927. The isolated urban site has no sign. Reached by turning directly off a public road (built), access is open with permission via a continuous masonry wall and locking gate. Size of cemetery before and after WWII is 0.2382 ha. No stones are visible except for bones moved from the oldest cemetery. The municipality owns the property used as the police station. Adjacent properties are residential. Vandalism occurred during World War II, continuing until about 1990.

Engineer arch. Jaroslav Klenovsky, Zebetinska 13, 623 00 Brno; tel. 0 completed survey on 10 March 1992. Documentation: 1. Hugo Gold: Die Juden und Judengemeinden Mahrens (1928) and 2. Jan Herman: Jewish Cemeteries in Bohemia and Moravia (1980). Other documentation exists. Klenovsky visited site in November 199 but conducted no interviews.
KROMERIZ II:     US Commission No. CZCE000116
See Kromeriz I for town details. New Cemetery: 1.5 km S, Vazanka Str. Caretaker with key: Technicke Sluzby Mesta Kromerize, sprava hrbitova, Velehradska 983, 767 01 Kromeriz; tel. 0634/20953.

The unlandmarked Jewish cemetery originated in 1927 with last known Jewish burial in 1980s. The flat suburban location, part of a municipal cemetery, has no sign. Reached by turning directly off a public road, access is open to all via a continuous masonry wall and non-locking gate. Size of cemetery before WWII: 0.6872 ha. Present size of cemetery is about 0.1 ha.

1-20 gravestones, in original location with none toppled or broken, date from after 1927. The marble and finely smoothed and inscribed stones have Hebrew, German, and/or Czech inscriptions. Some have iron decorations or lettering or bronze decorations or lettering, The cemetery contains special memorial monuments to Holocaust victims but no known mass graves. There is a pre-burial house. The municipality owns the property used for Jewish cemetery and industrial or commercial use. Adjacent properties are residential and cemetery. Compared to 1939, cemetery boundaries are smaller because of town cemetery. Occasionally, organized individual tours stop. Vandalism occurred during World War II and between 1945 and ten years ago. Jewish groups within country cleaned stones in 1960s and 1970s. Current care is occasional clearing or cleaning by authorities. Security (uncontrolled access), pollution, incompatible development (planned or proposed), and vandalism are slight threats. Vegetation overgrowth seasonally prevents access.

Engineer Arch Jaroslav Klenovsky, Zebetinska 13, 623 00 Brno; tel. 0 completed survey on 18 February 1992. Documentation: 1. Hugo Gold: Die Juden und Judengemeinden Mahrens (1928) and 2. Jan Herman: Jewish Cemeteries in Bohemia and Moravia (1980). Other documentation exists but was too old. Klenovsky visited site in September 1991. No interviews.