Behind The Curtain

Prague is home to a Jewish enclave situated between the Old Town Square and the Vltava River.

What is called the Jewish Quarter traces its roots to the establishment of the Jewish Ghetto in the 13th century when Jews were forcibly settled in this particular area.  Over the centuries Jews were prohibited from living anywhere else in Prague and it became more crowded as additional people forced to flee Germany, Austria, Moravia and Spain joined them there.

Compounding their difficulties the inhabitants of the ghetto were subjected to the whims of whoever ruled at the moment.  The most recent occurring from 1893-1913 with the destruction of buildings and reordering of the streets. Fortunately, the most significant historical buildings were spared destruction and remain a testament to the history of Prague's Jewish community.  Today these buildings represent the best-preserved  collection of Jewish architecture in Europe.

The Jewish Quarter is home to six synagogues and the old Jewish Cemetery.  

The Spanish Synagogue and the Old-New Synagogue are the most famous ones..The Spanish one is named for its Moorish interior design elements.  Constructed in 1868 it is the newest.  The Old-New Synagogue is the oldest active synagogue in Europe.  Built in 1270 it is the first Gothic architecture in Prague.

Maisel Synagogue 1592

Pinkas Synagogue 1535 

Klausen Synagogue 1694

Spanish Synagogue 1868

The Old Jewish Cemetery is the most remarkable of its kind in Europe and was in use from the first half of the 15th century until the last half of the 18th century.  Designated a National Cultural Heritage in 1985 there are approximately 12,000 gravestones.  The number of burials is estimated to be 100,000.

Ironically, all of this survived the Nazi occupation as Hitler laid plans to preserve The Quarter as a Museum to an Extinct Race. Plundered Jewish artifacts from Nazi-occupied territories were relocated to Prague.  Because much of this property remained after the war - the original owners having perished in Nazi concentration camps - the Jewish museum became the second largest in the world.

Birthplace of the Bohemian Jewish author Franz Kafka