Židé a židovský hřbitov v obci Útvina
Jews and the Jewish cemetery in Útvina

Author(s): Lukáš Svoboda
Subject(s): Cultural history, Jewish studies, Ethnohistory, Recent History (1900 till today), History of Judaism, 17th Century, 18th Century, 19th Century
Published by: Židovské Muzeum v Praze
Keywords: Karlovy Vary region; Útvina; Jews; cemetery;
Summary/Abstract: It was perhaps as early as the first half of the 17th century that the first Jewish families settled in the village of Útvina (Uitwa) in the south-eastern part of the Karlovy Vary region. The local Jewish community, which consisted of only a few families throughout the period under study, also had its own synagogue from the beginning of the 18th century. Its houses and synagogue were often damaged by flooding and fire. After the middle of the 19th century, the Jews gradually left the village for larger settlements. By 1900 there were no longer any Jews living in the village. The Jewish community in Útvina owned a cemetery, which today is one of the few reminders of its former existence. The oldest tombstone to have been found dates back to 1782. The cemetery was badly damaged during the Second World War. In the following years, the tombstones were used for construction purposes and the cemetery area gradually became wooded over. The theft of tombstones has continued until the present day. In connection with the discovery of broken tombstones during excavation work on a plot of land in the nearby village of Přílezy in 2020, it was subsequently decided, for safety reasons, to move the two remaining tombstones from Útvina to the Jewish cemetery in Karlovy Vary.

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