Jewish Museum and Astronomical Clock, Prague, Czech Republic

Located in the former Jewish Quarter of Prague, is the Jewish Museum, a collection of synagogues, monuments and an old cemetery spread out over several city blocks. It contains approximately 40,000 objects and 100,000 books making it one of the largest collections of Judaica in the world.

It was founded in 1906 by Augustin Stein and Hugo Lieben with the intention of preserving artifacts and documentation of the history of the Jewish community in Prague. During the Nazi occupation of Prague, the museum was used to store items of the individual Jewish people who were taken to concentration camps by the Nazis.

As you enter the museum, you’ll see multiple walls covered with the names of the Jewish families who were taken to concentration camps. It’s hard to fathom that so much venom can live in people’s hearts, resulting in the slaughter of millions of innocent people.

After the war, in which 77,297 Jews from Prague were murdered by Nazi thugs, the items went unclaimed. In May, 1945, Hana Volavková assumed leadership of the museum and the confiscated items. The first exhibition occurred just one month later, in June, 1945. There’s much more to the story; click here to learn more about the museum’s history.

Friedl Dicker-Brandeis was a woman interned at Terezin who gave drawing lessons to children there. She studied art at Weimar Bauhaus and worked tirelessly to obtain art materials for the children. She was eventually transferred to Auschwitz where she was murdered by Nazis. Click here to learn more about this incredible woman. Some of the children’s works are on display in the museum.

Maisel Synagogue was one of the synagogues on the tour. Like most of the city, it was quite crowded with visitors.

The cemetery is particularly significant. Dating to the 15th century, the first grave here belongs to rabbi and poet, Avigdor Kara, in 1439. The graves were stacked on top of each other due to Jewish customs and lack of space, thus the elevated structure of the cemetery. Emperor Joseph II banned burials within the city walls in 1787, when the last person was buried here.

We noticed many graves had pebbles or small stones on them. We learned later that this indicates someone has visited, thus showing respect for the family legacy.

The museum was particularly poignant and terribly mournful. A sobering reminder of the devastation hatred and ignorance has on communities when specific ethnic or religious groups are targeted.

The famous Astronomical Clock was also on our itinerary, and for every other tourist in Prague. However, the clock is an incredible piece engineering that has been running continuously since it was installed in 1410! The medieval clock is located in Old Town Square and draws the biggest crowds at the top of of the hour when all twelve Apostles make an appearance. Click here to read more about the history of the clock.

I saw this sign as we were walking to the synagogue; Kosta Boda glassworks, founded in 1742; wow!

Although we are currently in Kotor, Montenegro, I have more to share about Prague in the coming weeks. It’s an incredible city with rich history, amazing architecture, great food and so much more.

Click here to read theTravelsketcher’s post about our time in Kotor and the surrounding area.

As always, I would love to hear from you, so feel free to leave a message.

All the best,

Tricia