The story
The first written mention of Divišov is in a deed of King Ottokar I of Bohemia from 1218, which included the name Diviš of Divišov. He founded here a fortress around which the settlement began to form. Before 1242, Zdislav, the first-born son of Diviš of Divišov, founded Český Šternberk Castle in the neighbourhood of today's Divišov municipal territory, and the Divišov family became known as the Sternberg (Šternberk) family.
In 1545, Divišov became a town. It received coat of arms with a gold star which reminded the Lords of Sternberg. In 1742, after a large fire, almost the whole of Divišov burned down.
In the last third of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, development of industry occurred. After Divišov lost its town status around 1960, it became a market town in 2006.
Jewish community
The first Jews allegedly settled in Divišov before 1685. The first mention of the presence of the Jewish population is from 1718. The Jewish community was established on 1 August 1776, and immediately after its establishment, it applied for the lease of land for the establishment of a cemetery, which was founded in 1777. The cemetery was used until World War II.
From Wikipedia’s article on Divišov, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.5