Josefov (Prague)

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Josefov (also Jewish quarter; Josephstadt in German) is an area of central Prague, today Czech Republic, formerly the Jewish ghetto of the town. The quarter is often represented by the flag of Prague's Jewish community, a yellow Magen David (Star of David) on a red field.

History

Jews are believed to have settled in Prague as early as the 10th century. The first pogrom was in 1096 (the first crusade) and eventually they were concentrated within a walled Ghetto. In 1262 Přemysl Otakar II issued a Statuta Judaeorum which granted the community a degree of self administration. In 1389 one of the worst pogroms saw over 3,000 massacred at Easter. The ghetto was most prosperous towards the end of the 16th century when the Jewish Mayor, Mordecai Maisel, became the Minister of Finance and a very wealthy man. His money helped develop the ghetto. Around this time Rabbi Low created the legendary Golem myth.

In 1850 the quarter was renamed "Josefstadt" (Joseph's City) after Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor who emacipated Jews with the Toleration Edict in 1781. Most of the quarter was demolished between 1893 and 1913 as part of an initiative to model the city on Paris. What was left were only six synagogues, the old cemetery, and the Old Jewish Town Hall (now all part of the Jewish Museum and described below).

Narrow streets of ghetto, demolished between 1893 and 1913

The Nazi German occupation could have been expected to complete the demolishment of the old ghetto. However the area was preserved in order to provide a site for a planned "exotic museum of an extinct race". This meant that the Nazi's gathered Jewish artefacts from all over central Europe for display in Josefov.

Currently Josefov is mixed with amongst the more modern buildings and it is difficult to appreciate exactly what the old quarter was like when it was reputed to have over 180,000 inhabitants.

Historical sites

Franz Kafka's birthplace.
High Synagogue (Vysoká synagoga): 16th century synagogue.
Jewish Town Hall (Židovská radnice): 18th century rococo town hall.
Klaus Synagogue (Klausova synagoga): 16th century baroque synagogue.
Maisel Synagogue (Maiselova synagoga): 16th century synagogue destroyed by fire, now used as a museum.
Pinkas Synagogue (Pinkasova synagoga): 16th century synagogue, now a memorial to Holocaust martyrs.
Spanish Synagogue (Španělská synagoga): 19th century synagogue with Moorish interior.
Old Jewish Cemetery (Starý židovský hřbitov): 15th-18th century cemetery. Europe's oldest surviving Jewish cemetery.
Old New Synagogue (Staronová synagoga): 13th century gothic synagogue.
Jewish Ceremonial Hall, Prague (Obřadní síň): 20th century neo-renaissance hall.

External links

[Jewish Museum in Prague]

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