Abstract
During the construction of the new chapel, whose first projects have been made in 1928 and furthermore elaborated in the years 1929-1930 by architects František Berger and Jan Kraus, the Jewish Community got the idea to build a columbarium for depositing the cremated remains into the urns. For such a solution, there were probably two reasons: the first has been rather high price for the foundation and maintenance of the graves, which many members of the Jewish Community despite the great social concessions could not afford, but the columbarium would present relatively inexpensive funeral resting place within the existing graveyard.
The second reason could be quite tense relations between the Jewish Community in Hradec Králové and the political representation of the city. As we can observe through the records about the foundation, administration, modernization and the enlargement of the graveyard, the members of the Jewish Community have been in disgrace with the municipality representatives in Pouchov.
In April 1929, only several months before the Jewish Community started to pursue the idea of the foundation of the columbarium, the Priest Ambrose's Congregation Church has been finished and opened. The Czechoslovak Church, on the other hand, has been very popular and has been favoured by the national-democratic municipality in Hradec Králové and the Congregation Church opening caught the attention of the local and national media.
It was its new puristic chapel with columbarium that helped to establish Hradec Králové as a modern Eastern Bohemia city in the sight of the general public. That example from rivalry Church, along with the general enthusiasm for cremation and long-term reformative course among the Jewish Community, a affected the decision of the representatives of the Community and thus the columbarium has been additionally added.