KITTY, INSERT PHOTO HERE: UPDATE: "In November 2001, my husband, sons, and I visited Puchov where we found worse conditions than that stated in the webpage above. Access via the gateway entry is not possible. The erosion is very serious. Somebody uses the headstones to prop up a wood supply. My husband jumped over the wall with his digital camera and took many photos of the cemetery that paint a very grim picture of the site. Source: Amanda Haas Lovitt, Boulder, Western Australia at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . [January 2002]

Alternate name: Puhó. town image [February 2009]

US Commission Number. SLCE000204

Puchov is located W of Povazska Bystrica. The isolated urban hillside has no sign or marker. Reached by turning directly off a public road, access is open to all via a broken masonry wall and a non-locking gate. 100-500 19th-20th century marble, granite, and sandstone flat shaped tombstones (some with carved relief decorations) or finely smoothed and inscribed stones with Hebrew and German inscriptions are in original locations. The site is Jewish cemetery only. Adjacent properties are residential. Occasionally, private visitors stop. Individuals occasionally clean or clear vegetation. Within the cemetery is a pre-burial house. Vandalism is a serious threat; erosion is a very serious threat.

UPDATE: Located in Trencin region at 49°08'N 18°20'E. Alternate name: Pucho. Present total town population of 23,000 with unknown Jewish population, but estimated at less than 10.

• Mayor: Ing. Jan A. Trbain, , Town's office 821/21, ++421/825/4631775, email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it is in charge of the site.

Present size of cemetery is 4000 square metres with 100-200 gravestones, 100-120 of which are in original location but broken or toppled. Vegetation overgrowth in the cemetery is a constant problem, disturbing graves but water drainage appears to not be a problem.
Marble, granite, limestone, and sandstone tombstones date from 18th century. The flat shaped stones, finely smoothed and inscribed stones, flat stones with carved relief decoration, double tombstones, and obelisks have Hebrew, Slovak, and Hungarian inscriptions. The cemetery contains special memorial monuments. The cemetery property is now used for Jewish cemetery use only but has minor waste dumping. Properties adjacent to cemetery are residential.The cemetery is visited occasionally as evidenced by a pile of vegetation and rubbish that had been placed outside the wall of the cemetery and by the fact that it appeared to have been cleared fairly recently, i.e., vegetation was not an issue at the time.

The cemetery may have been vandalized (stones overturned, broken or stolen; graffiti painted on walls or stones, etc.; graves desecrated) or tombstone damage is the result of the ravages of time and little maintenance. The only care seems to be vegetation clearing.

Within the limits of the cemetery are a building that appears relatively new with no markings or identifications to show its use. I have a photograph of it. Security (uncontrolled access) and weather erosion are serious threats. The attitude of some in the town seemed very uncaring about the plight of the Jewish cemetery. There was a distinct change in one woman's manner when she discovered I was of Jewish ancestry. Another appeared apologetic that the synagogue had been demolished and that there was no trace of the Jewish quarter, even the street my grandfather was born in no longer exists.
Amanda Haas Lovitt, Bethel, Western Australia, 6432, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it completed the survey on 23 January 2002. She visited the site on 5 November 2001 with her husband Michael Lovitt and sons Benjamin, Christopher, and David.

January 2009:

Map of Village

Town Púchov
	Address:	Phone:	00 421 42 465 80 11
	Mestský úrad	Fax:	00 421 42 465 08 26
	Štefánikova 821/21	Email:	This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
	020 01 Púchov SLOVAKIA	Web:	www.puchov.sk