Jewish monuments

In the town center, between Smetanova and Soukenická streets, stands a synagogue building constructed in 1869 in the Moorish style. This oriental-style structure with Neo-Romanesque elements replaced an older prayer house in 1872. The building’s construction was notably supported by lawyer Izrael Kohn, who served as the town mayor from 1871 to 1872. During the occupation, the synagogue was closed and was not restored after the war; instead, it was used as a storage facility. In 1995, the synagogue was returned to the ownership of the Jewish Community in Prague. Currently, reconstruction is underway, and the building is occasionally open to the public.

Since 2019, twenty-two stolpersteine—memorial cobblestones embedded in sidewalks in front of houses of Holocaust victims—have been gradually placed throughout Písek. These “stones of the disappeared” can be found at the Great Square and in Heydukova, Smetanova, Nerudova, Prokopova, and Žižkova streets. In 2018, a Linden tree was planted at the mouth of Nerudova Street, facing the park, as a memorial to Holocaust victims. Approximately 150 people from Písek fell victim to the Holocaust. The vast majority were deported on November 26, 1942, by transport through Klatovy to Terezín and then mostly to Auschwitz; several perished in Flossenbürg and Dachau.

Outside the town, jnear the road toward Prague, a Jewish cemetery was established in 1879. The last burial took place during the occupation. In 1938, the local native, poet, and writer Richard Weiner was buried there. Due to extensive damage to the site during the war and subsequent years, there were considerations to close the cemetery. Therefore, in 1987, Weiner’s remains were transferred to the Forest Cemetery. Kamila Stösslová, a close friend of composer Leoš Janáček, also found her final resting place here. In the 1990s, the cemetery was respectfully restored and is now accessible to the public.