Page 91 - DK Eyewitness Travel Guides - The World's Must-See Places

CZECH REPUBLIC 89

A Ark
This shrine is the holiest place in
the synagogue and holds the THE INTERIOR
sacred scrolls of the Torah.
This Gothic hall, with its distinctive crenellated
gable, has been a house of prayer for over
RABBI LOW AND THE GOLEM 700 years. Its twin-nave has a ribbed, vaulted
The great scholar Rabbi Low was director of ceiling. To avoid the sign of the cross, a fifth rib
the Talmudic school (which studied the Torah) was added (five-rib vaulting) and decorated
in the late 16th century. A«ording to legend,
he made a being, the Golem, from day and with vine I eaves, symbolizing the fertility of
brought it to life by placing a magi< stone the land, and ivy. In a two-story building the
tablet in its mouth. The Golem went berserk, women's gallery would be upstairs, but here
so the rabbi removed the tablet and hid the it is I ocated in the vestibule. The number 12 is
creature in the Old-New Synagogue's rafters.
Right-Hand Nave >- a recurring feature throughout the synagogue,
The glow from the probably in reference to the 12 tribes of Israel.
bronze chandeliers
provides light for
worshipers using the THE JEWISH GHmO
seats lining thew ails. The Old-New Synagogue stands in Josefov,
once Prague's Jewish Ghetto. The area is
Rabbi low's Chair>-
A Star of David named after Emperor Josef II, who partially
marks the chair of relaxed the discrimination against Jews during
Chief Rabbi Low, his reign in the 18th century. For centuries,
pia ced where
the distinguished Prague's Jews had suffered from oppressive
16th-century scholar laws-in the 16th century, they had to wear a
used to sit yellow circle as a mark of shame .. In the 1890s,
the ghetto slums were razed, but a handful of
buildings survived, including the Jewish Town
Hall and a number of synagogues. During
World War II, the Nazis occupied Prague
and almost two-thirds of the city's Jewish
population perished in the Holocaust, mainly
in Terezin concentration camp, situated
northwest of Prague.
Etching of Rabbi Low
THE SYNAGOGUE
The Old-New Synagogue is one of three
OLD JEWISH CEMETERY synagogues in Prague where services are held
today. Admonishing worshipers on their way
Near the Old-New Synagogue is the
Old Jewish Cemetery. For more than 300 into the synagogue are the following words
years, this was the only burial ground inscribed on the entrance portal "Revere
permitted for Jews. More than 100,000 God and observe his commandments I For
people are estimated to be buried here. this applies to all mankind." Inside, men and
The oldest gravestone dates from 1439, Five-Rib Vaulting >- women are segregated for religious rituals.
and the last burial was in 1787. Two massive octagonal Services are held in the main prayer hall and are
pillars inside the ha II
support the five-rib vaults. reserved for men only; those attending must
keep their heads covered. Women may follow
KEY DATES the rituals from the adjacent women's gallery,
1200s 1700s 1883 1992 where they can stand and watch through small
slot windows. In the center of the hall is the
Work starts on Construction of the The architect Joseph The Historic Center
building the New women's gallery on Mocker beg ins of Prague becomes bima, similar to a wrought-iron cage, with a
Synagogue. the western and renovation work a UNESCO World lectern from which the Torah is read daily
northern sides of on the building. Heritage Site.
the synagogue. (cantor's platform). Above this is a red
Jewish Standard, a copy of the 1716 original.