oysters farming. The collecting of pearls was organised by the gentry and was even attended by the Emperor Francis II. In the last pearl oyster harvest in 1944, 20,000 oysters were opened. After the World War II the pearl oysters farming declined. The last owners of Horažďovice were the Kinsky family, who bought it in 1843. In the second half of the 19th century, industry, trade and crafts developed, which was mainly influenced by the construction of the railway. The Kinskys founded an English park with many rare specimens of trees and plants on an island in the Otava, today called "Ostrov". They owned Horažďovice until 1945. Jewish community A Jewish presence in Horažďovice is believed to have existed from ancient times and the first written reference to the Jewish community is contained in the records of the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) which indicate that 10 Jewish families were present in 1618. Archival evidence indicates that a Jewish cemetery existed in 1619. The first synagogue and Jewish school were founded in 1684. Officially banned from guilds, the early Jewish residents were farmers and traders. The earliest Jewish homes were concentrated in an area that is now called Prácheňská Street. The Jews of Horažďovice were subject to orders and decrees that made life extraordinarily difficult throughout much of their entire history. In the 17th century, the number of Jewish residents in Horažďovice was limited to 10 families, partially in an effort to discourage competition for local tradesmen. Renting homes to Jews was strictly prohibited. In the late 17th century, an edict prohibited the Jews from allowing their cattle to graze with the communal herd. In 1687, Jews were targeted further with special taxes, prohibitions on carrying firearms and an edict requiring Jews to wear a yellow cloth badge. The most far-reaching restrictions on Horažďovice's Jews were a series of measures known as the Family Laws (Familianten), introduced by Emperor Charles VI in 1726 and designed to limit Jewish population numbers. All marriages between Jews required the State's permission. No Jew under the age of 30 could marry and only the eldest male in each family was permitted to do so. The repeal of the Family Laws in the mid 1800s launched what many regard as the "golden age" of Horažďovice Jewry. By 1890, the Jewish community reached its peak population of 300, about 9% of the total population. The influence of