Jewish Ceremonial Hall and Jewish Museum

(Local Name: Obradni Sin) The Ceremonial Hall of the Burial Society (Obradni Sin) in Josefov is the old mortuary for the Old Jewish Cemetery. The structure was built in 1911 and 1912 and designed in a Romanesque style. The building is now one of the venues for the Jewish Museum in the Josefov area of Prague.

The exhibition at the Ceremonial Hall contains items related to "Jewish Customs and Traditions" Part II: Ways of Life". The main theme is death and illness, with descriptions of how bodies are washed and prepared for burial, gravestones and tombs, memorials, and paintings from the Prague Burial Society.

Sept 2008, Photo 560

Tour of Synagogues, Ceremonial Hall and part of Jewish Museum

(Local Name: Obradni Sin) The Ceremonial Hall of the Burial Society (Obradni Sin) in Josefov is the old mortuary for the Old Jewish Cemetery. The structure was built in 1911 and 1912 and designed in a Romanesque style. The building is now one of the venues for the Jewish Museum in the Josefov area of Prague.

The exhibition at the Ceremonial Hall contains items related to "Jewish Customs and Traditions" Part II: Ways of Life". The main theme is death and illness, with descriptions of how bodies are washed and prepared for burial, gravestones and tombs, memorials, and paintings from the Prague Burial Society.

Photo 838

Maisel Synagogue, part of Jewish Museum

The Maisel Synagogue was built in 1590 - 1592 by the Mayor of the Jewish Town, Mordechai Maisel, who funded the extensive Renaissance reconstruction of the ghetto. The builders of this synagogue were Josef Wahl and Juda Goldsmied de Herz. The original building was seriously damaged by fire in 1689 and was then renovated in the Baroque style. In the end, it was considerably rebuilt to a pseudo-Gothic design by Prof. A Grott in 1893-1905. All that remained intact of the original Renaissance layout was the groundplan of the tripartite central hall with the upper-storey women's section. The Maisel Synagogue is currently used by the Jewish Museum as an exhibition venue and depository.

Sept 2008, Photo 847

Spanish Synagogue, part of Jewish Museum

The Spanish Synagogue was built in 1868 on the site of the oldest Prague Jewish house of prayer ("the Old Shul"). It was designed in a Moorish style by Vojtěch Ignátz Ullmann. The synagogue has a regular square plan with a large dome surmounting the central space. On three sides there are galleries on metal structures, which fully open onto the nave. The remarkable interior decoration features a low stucco arabesque of stylized Islamic motifs which are also applied to the walls, doors and gallery balustrades. The interior, together with the stained glass windows, were designed by architects A. Baum and B. Munzberg and completed in 1893. František Škroup, the composer of the Czech national anthem, served as organist here in 1836-45.

Sept 2008, Photo 850

Spanish Synagogue

Photo 857