Monday, June 13th:
The Spanish Synagogue:
Today was a pretty intense day of touring. We woke up fairly early and ate the hotel breakfast before heading out to check out the Jewish Quarter of Old Town and to explore the Jewish Museum of Prague. Do not be fooled here though; the Jewish Museum of Prague is not just one museum, but rather a collection of sites including five synagogues, a ceremonial hall, and a cemetery. The first site we entered was the Spanish Synagogue, widely considered to be one of the most beautiful synagogues in Europe. The entire interior is decorated with golden tiles and colorful designs—it is truly pleasing to the eye! Both the upstairs and downstairs of the synagogue are also filled with display cases featuring historical items of the history of Jews in Prague and the Czech Republic, mainly focusing on the 20th century, World War II, and life after the Holocaust or Shoah. They have lived there for over one thousand years and been through many periods of struggle and grandeur alike. Another funny revelation here, the entire Jewish museum does not allow photos inside the synagogues, but since there is nobody telling you not to, nearly every tourist with a camera takes pictures anyways, and I followed…
The Old-New Synagogue, and the Jewish Quarter Town Hall:
Next we went into the Old-New Synagogue, which is the oldest continually operating synagogue in Europe, dating back to the mid-13th century. The building is very basic on the exterior and interior, but it is the age of it that is its charm. This is also the first place that I was required to wear a yamaka, in keeping with the traditions of the Jewish faith. Immediately next door to the Old-New Synagogue is the Jewish town hall, and while we did not go inside it is interesting in that it keeps time in Hebrew numbers counterclockwise on a clock adjacent to the main clock on the top of its steeple.
The Jewish Ceremonial Hall:
Our next stop was the Jewish Ceremonial Hall attached to the Klausen Synagogue. The Klausen synagogue depicts the daily lives of Jewish citizens in Prague and Jewish celebrations. The Ceremonial Hall is slightly grimmer, as it focuses on the Jewish Burial society and the traditions of burying the dead, as the Old Jewish Cemetery is immediately behind it. I had no idea about these traditions, so it was very interesting to learn about them. Following this stop we walked over to the Maisel Synagogue which is filled with historical items and facts discussing the lives of Jews in the Czech Republic from the 10th to the 18th centuries. Some of the artifacts were extraordinarily old, and it was cool to learn about major figures in a period of history and subject that I knew very little about.
Inside the Pinkas Synagogue (Those are all Names on the walls):
Our next stop in the Jewish Museum tour was the Pinkas Synagogue, which you also must walk through to get into the Old Jewish Cemetery. The Pinkas Synagogue is by far the most solemn and disheartening place in the Jewish Museum, and tourists immediately notice this when they walk inside. Prayer songs are played softly as you walk around, and the basic interior walls are covered with the names of the nearly eighty-thousand Moravian and Bohemian Jews killed by the Nazis during World War II. It is absolutely remarkable to see these names covering the walls in such a manner, and you are filled with all kinds of emotions as you tour this synagogue. Upstairs is another exhibit featuring artwork created by children at the Nazi concentration camp known as Terezín. Many of these children did not survive the Nazi “final solution,” and it is another painful reminder of the horrific war crimes of Nazi Germany.
The Old Jewish Cemetery:
We then moved on to the Old Jewish Cemetery, which is the final resting place of all Jews in Prague who passed away between the 15th century and the late 18th century. The oldest grave inside is marked 1439, and many of the chief Rabbis of Prague rest here. The space is so small that the graves had to be stacked, so the cemetery is actually about eight feet above the streets around it. 12,000 or so grave stones are visible above ground while thousands more lay beneath them. A path is set up so visitors can walk through the graveyard and admire the gravestones that lie at all angles across the tiny plot of land. Following our walk through the graveyard we walked over to the Rudolfinium theatre building, then got hungry. We had wanted to get a traditional Jewish lunch as that was our theme for the day so far, but instead we settled on a restaurant called La Veranda. Here we ate a mozzarella and eggplant salad and both Jen and I had a cold tomato soup with eggplant and tomatoes inside it. I also had a pint of Pilsner Urquell, a beer I had tasted before but had to drink it again as it is brewed in Plzen, Czech Republic.
The Astronomical Clock:
After lunch we walked across Old Town to the Astronomical Clock attached to the Old Town Hall building. We wanted to come here to see its famous animations as the clock strikes a new hour. The clock, dating from the 15th century, indicates time by the season, zodiac sign, and position of the sun and moon. As the clock strikes the new hour, a skeleton rings a death bell and turns his hourglass upside down. Windows on the top of the clock open and the twelve apostles walk by. As the animation ends, a golden cockerel flaps its wings and crows. The fanfare is topped off by a city-worker in traditional Bohemian Guard dress playing a trumpet at the top of the gothic Old Town Hall Tower. We had planned on going up to the top of the tower next, but had to wander around to find an ATM so I could get the cash to go up (50 CZK each for students). While looking for one, we also stumbled upon another massive church that we checked (Czeched, haha) out. We walked back to the Old Town Hall and took the elevator up to the top. The building was built around 1500 and offered spectacular views of the whole city, especially of Prague Castle and the Týn Church across the square.
View towards Prague Castle from the top of the Old Town Hall:
We left the Old Town Hall Tower and walked towards the Jerusalem Synagogue near the main train station. To our misfortune, the synagogue was closed—pity because it is super colorful on the exterior and I had heard it was beautiful inside as well. Walking towards New Town (Nové Město) we passed the Estates Theatre, the location of the premiere of the Mozart Opera “Don Giovanni in the late 18th century. We continued to Wenceslas Square, named for St. Wenceslas, where over 500,000 students gathered to protest the Communist regime in control at the end of 1989—now known as the Velvet Revolution. The square is massive, and at one end is the beautiful National Museum in gold and a massive statue of St. Wenceslas. There is also a very interesting wall dedicated to post-World War II history of the former Czechoslovakia, Democratic Republic of Germany, and Hungary. We continued our walk towards New Town Hall, the site of the world’s first defenestration! The building was unfortunately closed, but we continued walking to Charles Square, now a park where we rested and visited another magnificent church.
Wenceslas Square and the National Museum:
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