Old-new Synagogue

Completed in 1270 in the Gothic style, the Old-New Synagogue was one of Prague's first Gothic buildings.

It was originally called the New or Great Shul to disntinguish it from a still older one, which was demolished in 1867. When newer synagogues were built in the 16th century, it became known as the Old-New Synagogue.

The Old-New Synagogue has withstood several pogroms (including a massive one in 1389 that killed 3,000 Jews), fires and the 19th-century redevelopment of the Jewish Quarter. According to legend, angels brought stones from King Solomon's Temple to build the synagogue, and those same angels still protect the synagogue.

The legend also says that one day, the synagogue will be dismantled to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem. Until then, the synagogue exists At-Tnay, "on condition." An alternative explanation for the unusual name of the Old-New Synagogue is that it is a mistranslation of this Hebrew phrase At-Tnay.

The famous author Franz Kafka attended this synagogue when he lived in Prague and his bar mitzvah was held here. The only time the Old-New Synagogue has not been used as a house of worship was between 1941 and 1945, during the Nazi occupation.

Photo 843, Sept 2008