Two UNESCOs in one town — a Romanesque basilica and a living Jewish quarter
Třebíč holds a rare double UNESCO listing: the Basilica of St Procopius (Romanesque-Gothic, 1240) and the adjacent Jewish Quarter — one of the best-preserved in Central Europe, with 123 historic houses, two synagogues, and a cemetery dating to the early 17th century. The Jewish community here survived largely intact until deportation in 1942, and the quarter has been preserved as a memorial to that history. The contrast between the Christian basilica and the Jewish ghetto, separated only by the Jihlava River, gives Třebíč a unique dual cultural identity.
Třebíč was founded in the 11th century around a Benedictine monastery. The basilica of St Procopius, built 1240–1280, is one of the finest Romanesque-Gothic buildings in Moravia. A Jewish community settled here in the 13th century, growing into a substantial quarter by the 17th century — the current ghetto layout dates to 1681. The community was deported to Terezín in 1942; fewer than 20 returned. UNESCO inscribed both the basilica and the Jewish Quarter in 2003, recognising Třebíč as an outstanding example of medieval Christian-Jewish coexistence.