The cemetery itself is the oldest Jewish cemetery in Moravia (that is the region Mlada Boleslav is in, while Prague and Plzen are in Bohemia). Currently, no Jews live in this town, so there is a lot of unused land in the cemetery. It is too bad because this is prime burial real estate and has a great view of the town! While the last person to be buried was in 2001, the cemetery's chapel is occasionally used for ceremonies and concerts, and currently has an exhibit about the history of the Jews of the town. This exhibit included an exhibit case filled with three pages in Czech about my 10-great grandfather, as well as photos of his home and coat of arms. Other cases had information about the Jews from Mlada Bolaslav who were transferred to concentration camps during WWII. The keeper lead Megan and I to the cemetery's mortuary, which had an exhibit with pictures of notable graves, a morgue, and a large stone slab used for cleaning deceased bodies -- needlessness, this cold room was a bit uncomfortable for us.
Megan told the keeper that I had a relative buried in the cemetery and that I wanted to see Jacob Bassevi's grave. He thought that I wanted to see Jacob Bassevi's grave because it is the grave of a very famous man. When the keeper realized that Bassevi was my relative, he was surprised! This is because a man from Israel visited recently and also claimed to be a Bassevi relative, and because Bassevi was a notable man.
Jacob Bassevi is most famous for financing the Thirty Years War. Bassevi made his money by actually making money (silver coins) for the entire Empire. Due to his close relationship with three Holly Roman Emperors and his financing or the war, he was knighted by Emperor Ferdinand II and given a coat of arms. Bassevi also served as a Bohemian Court Jews, built many synagogues throughout the Czech Republic, and supplied synagogues with books and Judaica. He was considered a great adventurer! For these reasons it makes sense that I found the grave of my 10-great grandfather with many rocks on it and signage pointing to it.
The cemetery's keeper explained that Bassevi was returning from a business trip in Poland when he fell ill and died suddenly. Thus he was buried in this town and not on the town in which he was living, Jicin. However, he must have lived in Mlada Boleslav at some point because he built two synagogues there, and had his own courtyard (I am guessing the courtyard was connected to a house, but I couldn't tell from what the keeper was saying). The courtyard was later converted into a city theater or art gallery. The keeper also said that at some point someone stole Bassevi's money, but that he still had enough money to travel, go home, and build synagogues. I will be continuing to do research on Jacob Bassevi and his wife Hendel, as I still have many unanswered questions. Additionally, I will have to confirm that the stories the keeper told me are more than urban legend.
This is my 10-great grandfather's grave, with the coat of arms at the top.
Many fallen tombstones were used as a retaining wall.
This is a photo of the main square in Mlada Boleslav and its plague column. Many towns, including Plzen, have these columns with the Virgin Mary on top as a "thank you" for ending the bubonic plague and sparing the people of the town from the disease.
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