Page 94 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Prague

92  PR A GUE AREA B Y AREA

pointers were used to follow the too are mainly Baroque. The
text so that it was not touched high altar dates from 1760, and
by readers’ hands. There are there is an altar painting of
also objects such as wedding St Joseph by Jan Jiří Heintsch
plates, lamps and candlesticks. (c.1647–1712). In front of the
By a tragic irony, nearly all church stands a stone statue
these Jewish treasures were of St John Nepomuk (see p85)
brought to Prague by the Nazis distributing alms (1727) by the
from synagogues throughout Baroque sculptor Ferdinand
Bohemia and Moravia with Maxmilián Brokoff. Inside the
the intention of founding a church, there are a few earlier
museum of a vanished people. statues, including a 14th-
century Pietà (the heads of
0 Church of the the figures are later, dating
from 1628), a Late Gothic
Holy Ghost statue of St Ann and early
Kostel Sv. Ducha 16th-century busts of
18th-century silver Torah crown Elišky Krásnohorské. Map 3 B3. St Wenceslas and St Adalbert.
in the Maisel Synagogue X Staroměstská. v 17, 18.
@ 207. Open only for services.
9 Maisel 5 9:30am Sun. ^ 7
Synagogue This church stands on the
Maiselova Synagoga narrow strip of Christian soil that
once separated the two Jewish
Maiselova 10. Map 3 B3. Tel 222
749 211. X Staroměstská. v 17, 18. communities of the Middle
@ 207. Open Apr–Oct: 9am–6pm Ages – the Jews of the eastern
Sun–Fri; Nov–Mar: 9am–4:30pm Sun– and western rites. Built in the
Fri. & ^ 7 ∑ jewishmuseum.cz mid-14th century, the single-
naved Gothic church was
When it was first built, at the originally part of a convent of
end of the 16th century, this Benedictine nuns. The convent
was a private house of prayer for was destroyed in 1420 during
the use of mayor Mordechai the Hussite Wars (see pp28–9)
Maisel and his family. Maisel had and not rebuilt. The soaring Gothic architecture of the
made a fortune lending money The church was badly Church of the Holy Ghost
to Emperor Rudolph II to damaged in the Old Town fire of
finance wars against the Turks, 1689. The exterior preserves the q Spanish
and his synagogue was the original Gothic buttresses and
most richly decorated in the high windows, but the vault of Synagogue
city. The original building was a the nave was rebuilt in Baroque Španělská Synagoga
victim of the fire that devastated style after the fire. The furnishings Vězeňská 1, Dušní 12. Map 3 B2.
the Jewish Town in 1689 and a Tel 222 749 211. X Staroměstská.
new synagogue was built in its v 17, 18. @ 207. Open Apr–Oct:
place. Its present crenellated, 9am–6pm Sun–Fri; Nov–Mar: 9am–
Gothic appearance dates from 4:30pm Sun–Fri. & 7
the start of the 20th century. ∑ jewishmuseum.cz
Since the 1960s, the Maisel
Synagogue has housed a Prague’s first synagogue,
fascinating collection known as the Old
of Jewish silver and School (Stará
other metalwork škola), once stood
dating from on this site. In the
Renaissance times to 11th century,
the 20th century. It the Old School
includes many Torah was the centre of the
crowns, shields and finials. community of Jews of the
Crowns and finials were eastern rite, who lived
used to decorate the rollers strictly apart from Jews
on which the text of the of the western rite, who
Torah (the five books of Moses) were concentrated round the
was kept. The shields were hung Old-New Synagogue.
over the mantle that was Motif of the Ten Commandments on The present building dates
draped over the Torah and the the Spanish Synagogue’s façade from the second half of the

092-093_EW_Prague.indd 92 20/03/17 11:28 am
Eyewitness Travel LAYERS PRINTED:
Catalogue template “UK” LAYER
(Source v1.9)
Date 20th August 2012
Size 125mm x 217mm