Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Rabbi Oppenheim's
Grave
Rabbi David Oppenheim
(left)
was the first chief
rabbi of Moravia, and later
chief rabbi of Bohemia
and finally of Prague,
where he died in 1734.
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Entrance
Plan of the
Old Jewish
Cemetery
Zemach Graves
Next to the Pinkas
Synagogue
(see p101)
is
a square gravestone
where Mordechai Zemach
(d. 1592) is buried with
his son Bezalel (d. 1589).
The name Zemach means
“spring” in Hebrew.
Nephele Mound
Stillborn children,
miscarried babies and
other infants who died
under a year old were
buried in the southeast
corner of the cemetery.
Hendl Bashevi's
Grave
This elaborate tombstone
(below)
marks the resting
place of the so-called
“Jewish Queen , Hendl
Bashevi. Her husband,
mayor Jacob Bashevi,
was knighted and
permitted a coat of arms,
seen on
his wife's
grave-
stone.
Grave Symbols
As a rule, a Hebrew
tombstone
(matzevah)
contains the deceased's
name, date of death
and eulogy. In addition
to these basics, the
grave-markers in the
Old Jewish Cemetery
often included symbolic
images indicating the
deceased's lineage.
Names are often
symbolized by animals,
according to Biblical
precedent or Hebrew or
Germanic translations -
David Gans's tombstone
features a goose (
gans
in German). Some
professions are also
represented: scissors
may appear on a tailor's
tombstone, for example.
Gothic
Tombstones
The eastern wall of the
cemetery holds fragments
of Gothic tombstones
(above)
rescued in 1866
from another graveyard
near Vladislavova street.
Further graves at another
site were uncovered in
the 1990s.
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