Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
and chapels. The
artworks here, as part
of the gallery's collec-
tion, comprise some of
the best 19th-century
Czech art
(see pp28-9)
.
Jewish Town Hall
The hands of the
town hall's Rococo
clock turn backwards, as
the Hebrew letters on
its face are read from
right to left. The building was
one of Mordecai Maisel's gifts to
his community in the late 16th
century
(see p35)
, but it was
renovated in Baroque style in
1763.
d
Maiselova 18 • Map L3
• Closed to the public
Old Jewish Cemetery
Old Jewish Cemetery
The sight of hundreds of
graves, their leaning headstones
crumbling on top of each other,
is a moving and unforgettable
experience - a testament to the
treatment of the Jews in Prague,
confined to their own ghetto
even in death. Although there is
no definite record of the number
of burial sites here, to appreciate
the depth of the graveyard,
compare the gravestones' height
with that of the street level on U
Starého h∫bitova
(see pp22-3)
.
High Synagogue
Constructed along with the
town hall with funds from
Mordecai Maisel, the High
Synagogue was built in elegant
Renaissance fashion.
Subsequent reconstructions
updated the exterior, but the
interior retains its original stucco
vaults. Inside there are also
impressive Torah scrolls and
mantles.
d
Maiselova 18 • Map L3
• Closed to the public
Old-New Synagogue
Attached to the Old Jewish
Cemetery, Europe's oldest
surviving synagogue has
witnessed a turbulent history,
including pogroms and fire, and
has often been a place of refuge
for the city's beleaguered Jewish
community. Its name derives
from the fact that another
synagogue was built after this
one, taking the title “new , but
this was later destroyed. It is still
the religious centre for Prague's
small, present-day Jewish
community
(see pp24-5)
.
St Agnes's Convent
This lovely Gothic convent,
now part of the National Gallery,
is full of spectacular altarpieces
and wall panels, as well as
original 13th-century cloisters
Jewish Town Hall
The Old Jewish Cemetery, Ceremonial Hall, Maisel, Pinkas, Spanish
and Klausen synagogues comprise the Jewish Museum in Prague
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