Old Town - The Jewish Quarter

The Jewish Quarter is a historic and much-visited part of Prague's Old Town, capturing a thousand years of Jewish contribution to the culture. The district is also called Josefov, after Emperor Josef II. The Jewish town was added to Prague's historic center in 1850. Prague´s Jewish community was one of the oldest in Europe and its Jewish community lived in this area for centuries, but was nearly destroyed during World War II. Today, the Jewish Museum consists of five synagogues, the Old Jewish Cemetery and the Ceremonial Hall.

The Maisel Synagogue Maisel Synagogue was built at the end of the 17th century by the mayor of the Jewish Town, Mordachai Maisel, who started the extensive Renaissance reconstruction of the ghetto. Now it is used as an exhibition space. It illustrates the lives of Jews in Bohemia and Moravia from the 10th century to the end of the 18th century.	The Pinkas Synagogue Pinkas Synagogue dates from 16th century. After the Second World War, the synagogue was turned into a Memorial. The walls inside the synagogue are covered with the names of 77,297 Jewish victims of the Holocaust. There can be found their personal data and names of the communities to which they belonged. There is also a permanent exhibition of children's drawings from the concentration camp at Terezin.
The Old Jewish Cemetery The cemetery was established in the first half of the 15th century. Today it contains nearly 12,000 graves, but the actual number of persons buried here is higher. Due to limited space, Jews interred here were buried in layers, one on the top of the other. Centuries of headstones are in evidence. The most prominent person buried here is, without any doubt, Rabbi Loew. According to the legend, he was the creator of the Prague “golem”.	The Klausen Synagogue This synagogue is located at the exit of the Old cemetery. The Baroque building houses a permanent exhibition of Jewish customs and traditions. Here is seen the everyday life of Jewish families and the customs connected with birth, bar mitzvah, wedding, divorce and burial.
The Ceremonial Hall The Hall was built in Neo-Romanesque style at the beginning of the 20th century. It serves again as an exhibition space, connected with illness, medicine in the ghetto and death.	The Old New Synagogue This is perhaps the most important synagogue in Prague. It has stood here since the 13th century and despite fires, floods and Nazi occupation, it remains the centre of the Jewish community. The upper part dates from the 16th century, the 'new' portion of old-new. Services still take place here.
The Spanish Synagogue The Spanish Synagogue was built at the end of the 19th century in Neo-Moorish style, on the site of the oldest Jewish house – Old School. You will see Islamic motifs, many stained-glass decorations, windows and the iron structure of the synagogue. There is also a second section of the exhibition connected with the Maisel synagogue, showing the life of Jews in the 19th and the 20th century.