Jewish Town and Synagogues, Prague

It is the oldest working synagogue in Europe and one of Prague’s earliest Gothic buildings (it was built around 1270).

You will certainly be impressed by the Holy Ark from the eastern wall, in which the Torah sacred scrolls are kept and by the Hebrew biblical abbreviations covering the walls.

The Synagogue’s activity has an impressing history of more than 700 years, having been interrupted only between 1941 and 1945 because of the Nazi occupation.

It is now opened for public every day except Saturdays and Jewish Holidays.

The name comes from the fact that when the synagogue was built there already existed one such place of worship, so this one had to be called the New synagogue.
Unfortunately the former old synagogue was later destroyed so, as years passed, it became old.

2 more images

The Jewish Quarter‘s history dates back to the 13th century, when the Jewish community in Prague were ordered to vacate their homes and settle in one area.

The buildings in the Quarter form the best preserved Jewish historical monuments in the whole Europe.

4 more images

Interesting and heartbreaking area. This quarter dates back to the 13th century though it was of course wiped out by the Holocaust. Especially moving for me was the Pinkas Synagogue where the names of 80,000 Czech victims of the Holocaust are written. Those names just go on and on, covering so many walls. That synagogue also had drawings by children held in the ghetto by the Nazis. Many of them were of nature and their longing to see it again, though few would.

3 more images

The last stop on our bicycle tour, before returning to Praha Bikes on Dlouha Street, was in the Jewish District, where we had a look at the Hebrew Clock (first photo) and the Old Synagogue.

The hands of the Hebrew Clock move "counter-clockwise", as we would say in America, or "anti-clockwise" as the British say.

Second photo: Tourists in the Jewish District.

Third photo: The Old Synagogue.

Fourth photo: Statue of the author Franz Kafka (1883-1924).

>>Next tip!<<

2 more images

After turning in my bicycle at Praha Bikes at the end of the tour, I walked back to the nearby Jewish District for another look.

Since I had recently re-learned the words telemon/atlas/atlant (with the help of VT member german_eagle while I was writing one of my Bruchsal tips), I wanted to get a photo of two of these stone men supporting part of the façade of the corner building at Široká 64/12, which also houses the Franz Kafka Café.

I didn't go into the Franz Kafka Café, so I can't say if it is as bad as most reviewers make it out to be. The website Literary Traveler describes the Franz Kafka Café as "a pub that merely appropriates his name".

Like most buildings in Prague, this one has two numbers. The number 64 is left over from an old system of lot numbering and for most purposes can safely be ignored. The number 12 is the one you can use to find the building when you are walking along Široká Street.

Second photo: A wider view of the building at Široká 64/12.

Third photo: Franz Kafka Café at Široká 64/12.

4 more images

Jubilee Synagogue (Czech: Jubilejní synagoga), also known as the Jerusalem Synagogue, is a synagogue in Prague, Czech Republic. It also known as the Jerusalem Synagogue because of its location on Jerusalem Street. It was built in 1906, designed by Wilhelm Stiassny and named in honor of the silver Jubilee of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria. The synagogue is designed in Moorish Revival form with Art Nouveau decoration, especially in the interior. It was lately renovated and still serves religious purposes. After the Czech Republic became independent of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, it became more usual to call the synagogue the Jerusalem Street Synagogue

4 more images

Maisel Synagogue (Czech: Maiselova synagoga) is a synagogue in Josefov, Prague, Czech Republic. It was built in 1590-1592, designed by Josef Wahl i Juda Goldsmied and paid by Mordechai Maisel. The synagogue burnt down in 1689 and was then rebuilt in baroque style. It was again rebuilt in 1893-1905. It was Hitler's intended "Museum of the Extinct Race".[citation needed] It serves today as a Jewish Museum, part of the collection of the Jewish Museum in Prague.
The Old New Synagogue (Czech: Staronová synagoga; German: Altneuschule, Altneusynagoge) situated in Josefov, Prague, is Europe's oldest active synagogue.[1] It is also the oldest surviving medieval synagogue of twin nave design.[2]

Completed in 1270 in gothic style, it was one of Prague's first gothic buildings.[3] A still older Prague synagogue, known as the Old Synagogue, was demolished in 1867 and replaced by the Spanish Synagogue

2 more images

This part of Prague is dominated by synagogues, jewish cemetery, museum and other Jewish buildings. To be exact, you can visit Prague Jewish Museum, Old-New Synagogue, Maisel Synagogue and Old Jewish Cemetery. There are walking tours covering this part of Prague or you may choose to set your own pace. The admission fees are highly exaggerated and if you compare with the castle tickets, you see less and you pay more. However, in order to know more about Jewish way of life, it is a good way to get some impressions. The buildings around this area are also impressive and worth taking some pictures.