On a hillside above the Jihlava river in Třebíč, thousands of gravestones stand among trees, some upright, some leaning, some covered in ivy and moss, their Hebrew inscriptions weathered by centuries. The Jewish cemetery is one of the largest in the Czech Republic, founded in the seventeenth century and used until the Second World War, and it is part of the World Heritage listing of the Jewish quarter and St. Procopius' basilica in Třebíč, inscribed in 2003, the first Jewish monument outside Israel to be listed.
The Jewish quarter of Zámostí, across the river from the town centre, is one of the best preserved in Europe, with narrow lanes, houses built on the slope, two synagogues and the remains of the old community buildings. The community was destroyed in the Holocaust, and the quarter's survival is a poignant reminder of a lost world. The basilica of St. Procopius, on the other side of the river, is a remarkable Romanesque and Gothic building, part of a former Benedictine monastery, with a beautiful crypt and portal.
The riding around Třebíč is a pleasure, through the rolling hills of the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands, with fields, forests and fishponds. The tarmac is decent, the lorries few, and the bends flow gently rather than bite. Telč, with its arcaded Renaissance square, is an easy morning run away, and the Dalešice reservoir, south-east of Třebíč, is a lovely spot for a ride and a swim. Late May, with rapeseed glowing yellow across the hills, is a particularly good moment.
Třebíč is a town of nearly forty thousand people, so fuel, supermarkets and repair shops are no problem, and the Jewish quarter has a few cafés and guesthouses in its restored houses. The cemetery and the rear synagogue, with its painted interior and a model of the quarter as it once was, can both be visited, and men are asked to cover their heads among the graves. Take your time on the slope among the stones; the silence there says more than any guidebook. Afterwards, a plate of svíčková, beef in a creamy root-vegetable sauce with dumplings, and a cold local beer are the classic Czech consolation.