Jewish Mikulov

Mikulov (Nikolsburg) is a town in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic, located directly on the border with Lower Austria.

The settlement grew in importance and in the first half of the 16th century when Mikulov became the seat of the regional rabbi of Moravia, thus becoming a cultural centre of Moravian Jewry. The famous rabbi Judah Loew ben Bezalel (1525 – 1609), officiated here for twenty years as the second regional rabbi between 1553 and 1573.

In the first half of the 18th century the congregation in Mikulov totalled over 600 families, the largest Jewish settlement in Moravia.

In 1938 the city population totaled about 8,000 inhabitants. Out of these 472 were Jewish. The Jewish settlement of Mikulov ceased to exist during World War II.

Rabbi Shmuel Shmelke ben Hirsh Halevi Horowitz of Nikolsburg (1726 Chortkiv, Galicia - 1778 Nikolsburg, Moravia) was an Orthodox Rabbi and one of the great early Chasidic Rebbes. He served as the Chief Rabbi of Moravia from 1773, where he made a powerful impact. On the first day of his being Rabbi of Nikolsburg, Abraham Trebitch a native of Nikolsburg reports him performing a miracle and bringing rain.

Rabbi Shmelke established a major yeshiva that attracted numerous outstanding students.

Many still make the pilgrimage to his resting place on the anniversary of his passing.

BEST PLACE TO STAY WHILE VISITING MIKUOV IS HOTEL TEMPL. www.templ.cz