PRAGUE PRIVATE GUIDES

Jewish presence has been recorded in Prague already in the 10th century. During these one thousand or so years, Jews have been living, working, enjoying their life as well as suffering in this beautiful city. Many “pogroms” have decimated their ranks, the worse having come during the Nazi occupation of Prague, 1939 – 1945. From the approximately 90,000 living here at the time, some 80,000 were killed by being sent to concentration camps such as Terezin and on to Auschwitz or simply by being worked to death. Josefov, the part of town which was traditionally Jewish, is a suburb by the river named after emperor Josef II and still called “Jewish Town”.  Your tour includes a visit to the oldest synagogue in Europe (1270), the Old New Synagogue, the Jewish Museum which includes the Klaus and Maisl synagogues, the Pinkas synagogue with the approximately 80,000 names of the victims of the holocaust inscribed on the wall, the Old Jewish Cemetery and more. The museum includes many precious Jewish artifacts collected over generations. During the former regime, the Jewish presence in Prague was largely ignored. After the “Velvet Revolution” in 1989, many Jews have returned and keep on coming. The Jewish Heritage centers have been rebuilt, refurbished and reopened to the public largely due to funds generated all over the world, especially the USA, Canada and Israel.

 

All Jewish sights are closed on Saturday (except Terezin which honors all victims and therefore does not observe Sabbath, however the crematorium there is closed on Saturdays). We recommend visiting the Terezin Memorial in the afternoon to complement this tour. Sites are closed each Saturday for Sabbath and during Jewish holidays*

Duration:  approximately 3-4 hours

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Jewish Prague - Josefov - is located in the city center, Old Town area and all the sites are within a square 1/2 mile of each other - therefore, no transport is needed.  In case of wheelchair necessity, then a vehicle should be used and we will be glad to quote the price on an individual basis.  Should your hotel be located too far from the Jewish Quarter, we can provide the transfer to and from.  Just let us know.

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* For Jewish Quarter sites closures for 2016, please click JQ 2016

* For Jewish Quarter sites closures for 2017, please click JQ 2017