(C) 2023 Prague City Line
Jewish Town Hall – a place where the wall clock goes counterclockwise. This old Jewish Town Hall(czech: Židovská radnice) ranks among the few monuments of Prague-Josefov which have survived the extensive demolitions related to the sanation programs of the Prague´s Jewish ghetto leading to improvement of standard of living and hygienic conditions of the commuity. » More »
Vysoká synagoga – a private preaching place of the Jewish councilors. The Synagogue, which dominates Červená ulice (Red Street) was built together with Židovská radnice (Jewish Town Hall) in 1577. The construction was, just like the other monuments of the Jewish Community, financed by the rich communal leader Mordechai Maisel. The buidling standing directly opposite the Staronová synagoga (Old New Synagogue) served as a private preaching place of the Jewish councilors. » More »
Prague’s Jewish community has a history going back a very long way indeed. Jewish merchants and money lenders were settling in Prague as early as the 10th century. The original community in the Malá Strana moved in the middle of the 12th century to Josefov. » More »
On our tour of Jewish sights in Prague we cannot leave out a very important building which is situated in close proximity of the Old Jewish Cemetery and thus forms a part of the Jewish Town. We are speaking of the Klausen Synagogue (czech Klausová synagoga) which is one of the six historical premises of the Jewish Museum in Prague. » More »
Due to the sanitation of the Jewish Town Prague has lost a unique and worldwide exceptional cultural landmark. The decision to sanitize or partly pull down the Jewish ghetto was taken at the turn of the 19th and 20th century in order to solve the disastrous social conditions and mainly the hygienic situation of the ghetto. Let´s look closer what had preceeded this radical and tragic solution.
It is crucial for Judaism to keep alive its traditions, customs and everything related to the Jewish culture. All those customs and traditions accompany the daily lives of the Jews and they are distinguished by special indicia. The Jewish traditions origin from the Hebrew biblical books, particularly from the Torah, the most important book of Judaism. It is consequently being read from a Torah Scroll during prayers. Now we will learn about the traditions which are for the Jewish culture essential. » More »
What is the purpose of the synagogues? Why no pictures of humans, even saints, can be found in the synagogues? Which synagogue is the greatest? And did you know that the famous generic cialis onlineGolem is likely to wander through the streets of Prague? » More »
„It is Kosher.“ But what does it actually mean that something is „Kosher“? Which groceries, meat and plants, insects etc. are considered kashruth? And why should we not cook meat in a pot which had been used for milk before? » More »
Through the Maisel Synagogue (czech: Maiselova synagoga) back to the 10th century and then criss-cross through Jewish history in Bohemia. This beautiful Jewish building was funded in 1590 – 1592 by a very wealthy citizen of Prague Jewish Community, the Primate Mordecai Maisel. The synagogue was supposed to serve for private purposes only for him and his family. Naturally, the building takes its name after its benefactor. It was built just thanks to privileges conferred by the Emperor Rudolf II himself. As you know from previous entries, Mordecai Maisel was the very “Court-Jew” of the Emperor. » More »
The fundamental document of Judaism is the Torah, or Pentateuch, also called The Five Books of Moses because it is composed of five main parts. Each book consequently describes the oldest history of the Jews and constitues the essence of the Old Testament. The Torah is written in Hebrew and tells about the origin of the Israelites and also about Abraham, the forefather of the Jewish nation. The sacred text is most frequently written on the srcolls fixed on wooden bars. The Torah is in particular used for religious purposes. » More »