Travel Meets History: Jewish Prague

Jewish history has always held a special place in my heart. Living in Berlin and travelling to neighbouring European countries, there’s always something connected to it. The way the Jewish people struggled, thrived, then had to fight for survival in this continent is a part of history that we can all learn from. Prague, a city just four hours from Berlin was, at some point, home to one of the largest Jewish communities in Europe. Since we moved to Berlin last year, I’ve already been to Prague thrice and Jewish Prague is one of my favourite aspects of the city.

A walk towards the north from the Old Town brings you to Prague’s Jewish Quarter. Jews have lived in Prague since around 970AD. So, this quarter has been inhabited for over a thousand years. Just take that in for a second.

Several pogroms and expulsions happened since the community started in Prague but to this day, they remain in the city. However, there are only about two thousand registered Jews living in Prague nowadays. The biggest blow to the community, as you probably know by now, was the Holocaust.

**Related: Visiting the Jewish Museum Berlin

During the Nazi occupation, Hitler had this morbid idea of keeping Prague’s ghetto intact. He wanted to turn it into some sort of Disneyland for an ‘extinct’ race. This is why the Germans were quite careful with the quarter and the rest of the city during the occupation.

Main places to explore:

• Maisel Synagogue

Also the Jewish Museum. Built by a wealthy Jew who later became the mayor of the Jewish community of Prague back in the 1500s.

• The Old-New Synagogue

Built in 1270 and still active today, it’s the longest-active synagogue in Europe. It’s also rumoured to be the Golem’s hiding place.

• Spanish Synagogue

Beautiful structure inspired by the Alhambra Palace in Spain.

Today, however, I want to highlight some places and stories that really struck a chord in me during our visit.

The Pinkas Synagogue

It may seem smaller than most of its neighbours but the Pinkas Synagogue deserves a special mention. I’ve visited several synagogues in my entire life and Pinkas is one of the most interesting. Entering the synagogue, you are greeted by walls filled with writings. As you look closer, you’ll notice that they’re actual names of Jews who lived in Prague but were later sent to concentration camps. There are over 70 thousand of them on the walls, with each name succeeded by the person’s birthday and the last day they were known to be alive.

Children’s Art Exhibit

Upstairs, you’ll also find an exhibit featuring artwork made by children who were kept in the Terezín Labour Camp. Austrian artist Friedl Dicker-Brandeis found herself in Terezín in 1942. The place was supposed to be the “model ghetto”. The Nazis were using it for propaganda to encourage Jews to leave their homes and sign up for deportation. Here, Dicker-Brandeis gave secret art lessons for children and was her way of giving them therapy while they were in such a bleak situation.

**Related: Visiting Auschwitz: Why I Didn’t Cry When I Expected Myself To

Dicker-Brandeis hid all the children’s artwork in her luggage before she was sent to Auschwitz. She left it with the head of the Girls Home who later brought the artworks back to Prague. There were almost five thousand artworks in it. Out of the 660 children she taught, only a little over a hundred survived as most of them died in gas chambers.

The Old Jewish Cemetery

This is not the first cemetery made available for Jews in Prague. It is, however, one of the most interesting places you’ll see in the city. It only has room for 1,200 plots but was used for hundreds of years. The Jews had to keep putting soil over it so they can bury on top of the dead. Now, you’ll see 12,000 headstones and there are about 100,000 people buried in this cemetery. It’s a lot higher than the street and people say there are six layers of soil and buried dead within its walls.

The oldest grave in this cemetery dates back to 1439 and is occupied by Avigdor Karo. You’ll also find the headstones for Judah Loew ben Bezalel, the Rabbi who is said to have created the Golem, and of Jewish Mayor Mordechai Maisel who helped Jews flourish in the city.

While walking through the cemetery, we chanced upon a Jewish man talking to his son about what happened during the Holocaust. It was so quiet in the cemetery that even though they weren’t talking loudly, we still couldn’t help but overhear their conversation. He was telling his son about hate and how it drives people to be cruel and hurtful. He added that despite what their ancestors experienced, they should lead a life filled with love. At this point, it was just hard to keep ourselves from tearing up.

To think I absolutely abhor crying in public and I often succeed in stopping myself. This moment was just too much.

Jewish cemeteries often have pieces of paper stuck in walls. This, due to their belief that cemeteries are a gateway to the afterlife. Loved ones left behind by the dead, leave messages, prayers, and wishes for their dead here.

The Ceremonial Hall

If you ever wanted to reflect more on death and the afterlife, dropping by the Ceremonial Hall will give you a unique, Jewish perspective on it.

The place tackles local customs that revolve on rituals for the dead. This is connected to the Old Jewish Cemetery and was its mortuary used to wash the dead and prepare them for burial.

The Golem of Prague

This is one of the most well-known legends in Jewish lore and you’ll see references to it throughout your visit. They say that in the 16th century, Rabbi Loew created a Golem using clay from the banks of the Vltava river. He used Hebrew incantations to bring it to life so that the Golem can defend the ghetto during pogroms and attacks.

There are various versions of how the story ended but it usually goes down the route of the Rabbi losing control of the Golem, making him dangerous. Rabbi Loew eventually succeeded in taking the shem which gives it power, immobilising the Golem. They say its body still resides in the attic of the Old-New Synagogue, waiting to be called to do his duty again if the Jews are ever in danger.

Pařížská (Paris Street)

Before I end this post, I just want to include some photos of Paris Street. It’s one of Prague’s prettiest and a lot of high-end designer shops are located here.

This street leads directly to the Jewish Quarter from the Old Town Square. From Neo-Baroque to some Gothic elements here and there, and even Art Noveau, this is an architecture nerd’s dream come true.

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That’s it for today. I’ll be back with a write-up for the rest of Prague pretty soon.

‘Till then, take care and I’ll see you guys here again soon!