Our regular exploration of prominent regional exhibitions and Jewish sights in Bohemia and Moravia now focuses on Hole ov. This town is closely connected with the history of Czech Jews and boasts a number of major Jewish sights. Situated in Eastern Moravia approximately 240 km from Prague, it was granted town status as early as the 15th century. This was because the local Jewish community s archive was destroyed by fire in 1560, along with all documents testifying to the presence of the Jewish community in the region. In the 18th and 19th centuries the Jewish community of Hole ov was one of the most prominent communities in Moravia.
Demographic data show that the Jewish population went into gradual decline in the subsequent period.
In 1900 there were 695 Jews living here and in 1930 a mere 273. The Jewish community was revived for only a short period after the Second World War. Rabbi Shakh came from Vilnius and lived in Hole ov until his death in 1663. He was buried in the local Jewish cemetery, his gravestone becoming a place of pilgramage for devout Jews from across the world. The Jewish quarter in Hole ov covered a very large area and had a turbulent history.