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This project attempts to identify and collect Jewish individuals from the Czech Republic town of Milevsko. This is not to be confused with the German towns named Muhlhausen, of which there are several with Jewish Town Projects on Geni.
Current Czech name: Milevsko
Other names/spellings: Mühlhausen [Ger].
Location: The town of Milevsko lies on Milevský Potok (Milevsko Stream) at 49°27' N, 14°22' E , 22 km NE of Pisek, 20 km NW of the town Tábor and 44 miles S of Prague, in S Bohemia.
History: Archeological excavations in the area have shown that the first people lived in the area in the Paleolithic era. During the Migration Period the area was slowly settled by Slavs, who started driving out native inhabitants (the first Slavic excavations date back to 8th century).
The town history dates back to the end of the 12th century when the construction of the Premonstratensian monastery began. In the 14th century it grew into the small town. The monastery was the main economic, cultural and ideological center of the region. In the 17th and 18th century the town and its surroundings suffered from wars and the Black Plague. In 1785 the Emperor Josef II decided to close down the monastery and the whole region declined, becoming one of the poorest regions in Bohemia in the 19th century. A new flowering came after the Second World War when industry developed in the area.
The earliest known Jewish community was in the late 17th century. The 1930 the Jewish population was 81. The Jewish population reached its peak in the second half of 19th century (198 people in 1890). Later, Jews moved to big towns.
The oldest part of the town is the monastery on the northern outskirts. It comprises the Church of the Visitation of the Virgin Mary and St. Gilles' Church. In the square in the center of the town there is the Baroque old town hall from the 17th century, the Neo-Renaissance new town hall with graffiti from 1902 and the Pseudo-Romanesque St. Bartholomew's Church from 1866. The Jewish synagogue with valuable portal with the Cubist elements was built between 1914 – 1919, replacing an earlier synagogue.
Jewish Cemetery The landmarked Jewish cemetery originated in 1715 with last known Conservative or Reform Jewish burial before 1943. It is located 2 km ENE of the square, on the cadastre of Sepekov. Database of graves
Genealogical Resources: Birth, Death and Marriage record books for Milevsko beginning in around 1800 are preserved and located at the Czech State Archives in Prague. Familiant Book
Familiant List: