History of Prague's Jewish Quarter

Josefov, the historical Jewish ghetto of Prague, is now a well-preserved look into the past.

Oct 24, 2006

The history of the Jews in Prague is intimately connected with Josefov, the Jewish Ghetto near the Old Town, as far back as the 10th century.

Prague's Jewish Quarter, called Josefov in Czech, has historically been the Jewish ghetto of Central Europe's most beautiful city. Jews reportedly settled in Prague as early as the 10th century, but in the 13th century, they were corralled into the walled Jewish ghetto.. It is estimated that the Jewish quarter had the largest Jewish population in Europe during the 1800's.

In the late 1500's a successful Jewish man named Mordecai Maisel became Minister of Finance and injected funds into Josefov. He provided the money to build the Jewish Town Hall, the Maisel Synagogue, the High Synagogue and other buildings in Josefov. In addition, one of the streets that he paid to have paved is called Maisalova Street in his honor.

The Toleration Edict of 1781 gave more freedom to the Jews of Prague, who were now permitted to live outside Josefov. They were also given other freedoms, including the right to attend public schools and to seek occupations to which they had previously been barred. In the middle of the 19th century, equal rights were finally given to Jews, who now faced discrimination from their fellow Prague residents.

The attainment of equal rights prompted many of the wealthier Jewish citizens to move out of the ghetto. Property values in Josefov dropped; poorer Jewish residents stayed and non-Jewish citizens found affordable housing there. This aided in making Josefov a pocket of poverty too near to Old Town Prague, and it quickly became dilapidated, over crowded, and unlivable. Most of Josefov was eventually raised in the late 19th century, to be replaced with newer buildings - many in the Art Nouveau style.

During WWII, many Jews from Prague were taken to the Terezin concentration camp or shipped to other concentration camps throughout Europe. Before their defeat, the Nazis planned to make Josefov into a museum of a future "extinct race."

Today, the buildings of Josefov have been incorporated into a Jewish-run museum and cultural center. While much of the former Jewish ghetto was replaced in the 1920's, several synagogues remain (the Spanish Synagogue, the Maisel Synagogue, the High Synagogue, the Old-New Synagogue, the Pinkas Synagogue, the Klausen Synagogue), as well as the Old Jewish Town Hall, the Ceremonial Hall (once used as a mortuary), and the Old Jewish Cemetery.

The copyright of the article History of Prague's Jewish Quarter in E European History is owned by Kerry Kubilius. Permission to republish History of Prague's Jewish Quarter in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.