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Prague's Old Historical Jewish Quarters   www.private-tours.net
Deep in the heart of Prague is a six centuries old Jewish Town
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The map of old town Jewish area called Josefov
The map of old town Jewish area called Josefov
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Jewish Prague


Prague has one of the oldest Jewish Centres in Central Europe. The Prague Jewish Community has got one thousand years of history.
Except of the Old Jewish Cemetery, the most prominent sites of Prague Jewish Town are its synagogues.

It is a walking tour (the minimum lenght of tour is 4 hours) in the area of Josefov named after the Emperor Josef II., situated in a part of the Old Town, where the Jewish Quarter existed approximately since 14th century till the year 1781. There, still standing and in use are the synagogues that are mostly used as museums, the Old Jewish Cemetery, and the Jewish Town Hall.
The first Jewish museum in Prague was founded already in 1906 to preserve valuable artefatcts from the Prague synagogues that were liquidated during the reconstruction of the Jewish Town at the beginning of the 20th century. The museum was closed after the Nazi occupation in 1939 . In 1942 the Nazis established the Central Jewish Museum , to which were brought artefacts from the destroyed Jewish communities , the Nazis approved the project of the Jewish museum staff to set up a central museum in Prague . During the Communist regime , everything was transferred under the pressure to the state . After the end of the Communist regime in 1989 , in 1994 everything was returned to the Jewsih Community of Prague .
The Jewish Museum has one of the most extensive collections of Judaic art in the world.

"Although it has been proven that the legend about the Golem and his scholarly creator did not emerge until the 19th century and the alleged "historical" writings about the Golem are fake, we are still waiting for an explanation why to this day Psalm 92 is sung twice in the Old-New Synagogue during the Friday service. According to legend, rabbi Loew was interrupted during his reading with a plea to stop his clay-made servant from running amok around ghetto."

"Jewish Prague" Jan Bonek


"We must first talk about the Romanesque stone houses in Prague since no other city in Europe has so many of them. Similar houses in Cluny, France, or in Gent and Bruges, Belgium, or in Regensburg, Bavaria, may have some common features, but those discovered under the group of the Old Town are unique because they were tailored to the specific needs of their owners-church dignitaries, noblemen, well-to-do merchants and bankers. The discovered space was used to store goods.
The privilege of Sobeslav II from 1174, which regulated the position of foreigners living in Prague, indicates that they represented a social group of many different faiths, nationalities and legal customs.
This document specifically mentioned German immigrants, but it is obvious that it also concerned other people living below the Prague Castle.
Everything indicates that the Czechs, Italians and Prague Jews were the main groups, even though no tangible proof of their houses, except for one or two indirect pieces of evidence, has been found in the Jewish town so far. Still, archeologists believe that it is just a matter of time before the foundations of these houses will be discovered under the demolished houses. When we look at the city plan showing all the discoveries, it seems illogical that no houses would have been built in the places most likely populated with rich Jewish investors."
"Jewish Prague" Jan Bonek

"With the death of Ferdinand I of Hapsburg and the accession of his son Maxmilian II (1527-1576), who was crownd the Czech king on 14 May 1562, came a short, yet,"golden age" for the Jews in Prague. Today, this period of time is considered the most important era in the history of the Prague Jewish Town. It became a European commercial center and had well-respected Talmudic schools and efficient printing shops. The rich ghetto became perhaps the most important Jewish town in Europe and certainly one of the biggest centers of Ashkenazi Jews."
"Jewish Prague" Jan Bonek


Opening hours in 2017
The museum's visitor sites – monuments, permanent exhibitions and the Robert Guttmann Gallery – are open every day except Saturdays and the Jewish holidays.
The opening hours in the main season change with daylight saving time:
1 January – 24 March 2017 9 a.m. - 4.30 p.m.
26 March – 27 October 2017 9 a.m. - 6 p.m.
29 October – 31 December 2017 9 a.m. - 4.30 p.m.

The Jewish Museum sites are closed on the following days in 2017:
All sites are closed on Saturdays.
11 April 2017 1st day of Pesah closed
12 April 2017 2nd day of Pesah closed
17 April 2017 7th day of Pesah closed
18 April 2017 8th day of Pesah closed
31 May 2017 1st day of Shavout closed
1 June 2017 2nd day of Shavout closed
21 September 2017 1st day of Rosh Hashanah closed
22 September 2017 2nd day of Rosh Hashanah closed
30 September 2017 Jom kipur closed
5 October 2017 1st day of Sukkot closed
6 October 2017 2nd day of Sukkot closed
12 October 2017 Shemini Atzeret closed
13 October 2017 Simchat Torah closed
1 January 2018 open from 11 a.m.

The Old-New Synagogue is open every day except Saturdays and Jewish holidays
Sunday – Thursday:
January – March 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
April – October 9 a.m. - 6 p.m.
November – December 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Friday The synagogue closes an hour before the Sabbath see below
Friday:
The synagogue closes an hour before the Sabbath see below
6 January 2017 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
13 January 2017 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
20 January 2017 9 a.m. - 3.15 p.m.
27 January 2017 9 a.m. - 3.30 p.m.
3 February 2017 9 a.m. - 3.45 p.m.
10 February 2017 9 a.m. - 3.45 p.m.
17 February 2017 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
24 February 2017 9 a.m. - 4.15 p.m.
3 March 2017 9 a.m. - 4.30 p.m.
10 March 2017 9 a.m. - 4.45 p.m.
17 March 2017 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
24 March 2017 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
April – September 9 a.m. - 6 p.m.
20 October 2017 9 a.m. - 4.45 p.m.
27 October 2017 9 a.m. - 4.30 p.m.
3 November 2017 9 a.m. - 3.15 p.m.
10 November 2017 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
17 November 2017 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
24 November 2017 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
December 2017 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
The Jewish holidays:
11 April 2017 1st day of Pesah closed
12 April 2017 2nd day of Pesah closed
17 April 2017 7th day of Pesah closed
18 April 2017 8th day of Pesah closed
31 May 2017 1st day of Shavout closed
1 June 2017 2nd day of Shavout closed
21 September 2017 1st day of Roš ha-šana closed
22 September 2017 2nd day of Roš ha-šana closed
30 September 2017 Yom Kipur closed
5 October 2017 1st day of Sukkot closed
6 October 2017 2nd day of Sukkot closed
12 October 2017 Shemini Atzeret closed
13 October 2017 Simchat Torah closed

The Jerusalem Synagogue is open every day from April to October, except Saturdays and Jewish holidays.
Sunday – Friday 11 a.m. - 5 p.m.
11 April 2017 1st day of Pesah closed
12 April 2017 2nd day of Pesah closed
17 April 2017 7th day of Pesah closed
18 April 2017 8th day of Pesah closed
31 May 2017 1st day of Shavout closed
1 June 2017 2nd day of Shavout closed
21 September 2017 1st day of Roš ha-šana closed
22 September 2017 2nd day of Roš ha-šana closed
30 September 2017 Yom Kipur closed
5 October 2017 1st day of Sukkot closed
6 October 2017 2nd day of Sukkot closed
12 October 2017 Shemini Atzeret closed
13 October 2017 Simchat Torah closed



The Old-New Synagogue
The Old-New Synagogue
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There is an old legend that the foundation stones of for the Old-New Synagogue were brought by angels from the destroyed Temple of Jerusalem. The ending to this legend and others can be heard on the tour. It is the oldest synagogue in Europa at the present , from the year 1280.The Old-New Synagogue , which is not part of the Jewish Museum , is one of three Prague synagogues , together with the High and the Jerusalem Synagogues , in which divine services are held .
The Maisel Synagogue
The Maisel Synagogue
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The Maisel Synagogue was the home of the birth of liberal Judaism in the 19th Century. There is the exhibition about the history of the Jewish settlements of our country from the 9th-10th centuries , till the year 1781. It was built in 1590-1592 by the Mayor of the Jewish Town Mordechai Maisel .

The Klausen Synagogue
The Klausen Synagogue
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The Klausen Synagogue is located by the exit from the Old Jewish Cemetery .It takes the name from the German word "Klaus" meaning "small building" , it was the name of original three smaller buildings at the place of which was built the present Klausen Synagogue in 1694. You will be fascinated with the collections exhibited in it reminding us the Jewish customs and traditions.
The Spanish Synagogue
The Spanish Synagogue
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The Spanish Synagogue was built in the later part of the 19th century in the Spanish-Moorish design. This synagogue fell through hard times but as you can see beauty lasts forever. THere is the historical exhibition about the history of the 19th and the 20th century , i.e. abou the enlightenment and emancipation in the Austro-Hungarian Empire till 1918 , about the First Republic life till 1938 , about the Nazi Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia ( 1939-1945) and the postwar decades .

The Pinkas Synagogue
The Pinkas Synagogue
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Enterring the Pinkas Synagogue, one sees this beautiful courtyard and early Renaissance entryway.It is the memorial of holocaust at the present with the names of 78000 victims all over the walls inside and the exhibition of Children´s Drawings from Terezin Concentration Camp , among the Terezin prisoners there were over 10000 children under the age of 15 at the time of imprisonment , of 8000 that were deported to the East about 242 survived the wartime suffering .
Chevra Cadisha - The Ceremonial Hall
Chevra Cadisha - The Ceremonial Hall
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The Hevrah Kaddishah building currently holds a permanent exhibition of this Burial Society founded in Prague in the 16th century by the Rabbi Low . The building itself was built in 1911-1912 in pseudo-Romanesque style .

The tombstone of Rabbi Low
The tombstone of Rabbi Low
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The renowned Rabbi Low ( the most prominent person buried in the Old Jewish Cemetery - the great religious teacher and scholar Rabbi Liwa ben Bezalel ),called also MAHARAL, was buried in this cemetery in 1609 . His tombstone can be seen in the foreground with the lion's head.It is the pilgrimage place of millions of Prague visitors and the Prague citizens as well. He was the great scholar , but every child knows him from the legend about Golem - the artificial monster constructed by him.
Old Jewish Cemetery
Old Jewish Cemetery
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This ancient cemetery, in the heart of the Jewish Town was opened perhaps in the 15th century ( the oldest tomb on the top is from the year 1439 )and closed to further burials in 1787. There are twelve layers in which people were burried , thousands of graves are underneese and twelve thousands of tombstones on the top.The pictoresque groups of tombstones from various periods result from the fact that older stones were lifted up several times from the lower layers.

Optional extension of tour.


In case you decide to see more from the Jewish Sights of Prague, you can prolong the tour and the guide will show you the Jerusalem Synagogue in the New Town and the New Jewish Cemetery where is possible to see the grave of Franz Kafka - the famous Prague writer, or his museum, the statue of Rabbi Low.

Jerusalem - Jubilee Synagogue

Jerusalem Synagogue

Interier of Jerusalem - Jubilee Synagogue

The synagogue was dedicated on 16 September 1906 during the festival of Simhat Torah. The decision to build the synagogue had been made at the time of the 50th anniversary of the accession of Franz Joseph I to the Austrian Throne , it was named the Jubilee Synagogue in his honor.

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