The history of Prague

A history of more than a thousand years speaks for itself. But how did
everything start? And when? Who were the first Czech kings? The answers
to all this questions can be found in the short chronological table below:

8th century The Czech Tribe settles in the territory of central Bohemia. The
Vysehrad Acropolis is built on the right bank of Vltava.

Around 870: Founding of the Prague Castle.

921: Wenceslas becomes prince of Bohemia.

Around 925: Founding of St. Vitus Cathedral in the Prague Castle

grounds.

965: Prague first reported in the narration of Ibrahim Jakub, a merchant.

973: Foundation of Prague bishopric.

1070: Vysehrad becomes the residence of the Czech princes.

1085: Prague becomes the temporary residence of the first Bohemian

king Vratislav I.

1172: The seat of the Czech princes is moved from Vysehrad to the
Prague Castle.

1158: Construction of Judith Bridge, the 2nd stone bridge in Central

Europe.

Around 1230: Establishment of the Old Town.

1257: Foundation of Mala Strana (Lesser Quarter).

1310 – 1346: John of Luxembourg rules as the king of Bohemia.

Around 1320: Foundation of Hradcany, the area around Prague Castle.

1338: Foundation of the Old Town Hall – the importance of the city
increases.

1344: Prague bishopric upgraded to archbishopric, beginning of St. Vitus,

St. Wenceslas and St. Adalbert Cathedral (finished 1929).

1347-1378: Charles IV epoch – Prague becomes the capital of the

Bohemian Kingdom and the Holy Roman Empire.
1348: Charles IV founds the New Town and the Charles University, the
first university in Central Europe.

1357: Charles IV begins the reconstruction of the main bridge over Vltava
(Judith Bridge), which will later become Charles Bridge.

1410: Building of the Astronomical Clock in the Old Town and

excommunication of Jan Hus, the most important Czech reformer, later
declared a heretic and burned at the stake (1415). The Czech people
considered him a martyr and started the Hussites revolutionary
movement.

1420: Hussites are victorious in the fights against the Emperor’s Catholic
crusades, under the lead of Jan Zizka, the brilliant leader who invented
mobile artillery. Jan Zizka died in 1424.

1458: George of Podebrady, the last Czech king is crowned.

1526: Beginning of the Habsburg dynasty in Prague. Ferdinand I crowned

king of Bohemia.

1583-1612: The rule of Rudolf II, Renaissance reaches Prague and the
city becomes the emperors residence and centre of social and cultural life.

1620: After the lost battle of the White Mountain and the execution of 27
Protestant leaders in 1621, Bohemia becomes a province of Austria and
the Czech language and Czech national consciousness begin to decline.

1648: The end of the 30 Years’War. Prague Castle occupied by the

Swedes.

1740: Maria Theresa becomes the new Empress of the Empire.

1784: Prague so far independent towns: Hradcany, Lesser Town, Old

Town and New Town unite and form a single unit.

1805: Napoleon defeats the Czech, Austrians, Russians at Austerlitz

(Slavkov).

1800-1900: Prague grows into a new city, national values are

rediscovered and Czech language is re-established as the official
language.

1868: Foundation of the National Theatre on the bank of Vltava.

1875: The first Horse-Tram runs in Prague, on a route leading from The
National Theatre to Karlin.(in September 2005 the Prague Public
Transport Company celebrated 130 years of existence).
1881: The National Theatre is destroyed in a fire, the inhabitants of
Prague collect money for its re-construction.

1883: Re-opening of the National Theatre.

1912: The Municipal House is opened.

1918: Tomas G. Masaryk becomes the firs elected president of the new
independent state the Czeckoslovak Republic. Prague becomes the capital
of the new state.

1938 After political betrayal of allied, Germany occupied Sudetenland and

in 1939 whole country.

1939-1945: Prague is under the occupation of the Nazi (Prague is the

capital of the German Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia)

1945: Hundreds of Praguers killed in an air raid of U.S. Air Force (due to
a mistake of the pilots – the target was Dresden)

1945: Uprising against the Nazis during the last days of World War II,
ended with the arrival of the Soviet Red Army.

1948: The Communist Party assumes the political power in the country.

1968: Members of the Warsaw Pact (5 states) invade Prague in order to

repress the Prague Spring. Over 100 protesters are killed as troops
enter the city.

1989: Prague is the main centre of the Velvet Revolution (the end of
Communist Era in Czechoslovakia, Vaclav Havel elected President of
Czechoslovakia).

1993: 1st of January, Czechoslovakia splits in two and the Czech Republic
is founded.

1993: 26th of January, Prague declared once again capital of the Czech
Republic. Vaclav Havel elected president.

History of Prague through the Centuries

9th century
- The Prague Castle is founded around 880 by prince Bořivoj of the Premyslid dynasty.
- Prague is established.
- Some members of the Premyslid dynasty embrace Christianity brought to the Czech lands by Cyril
- and Methodius, the "apostles of the Slavs".

10th century
- Foundations are laid to St. Vitus Rotunda and the Vyšehrad Castle.
- The Prague bishopric is founded in 973.
11th century
- Vratislav II becomes the first Czech king in 1085 but remains subordinate to the Holy Roman Empire
- and the German king.

12th century
- The first stone bridge over the Vltava, Judith Bridge, is built in 1172.

13th century
- The Old Town (Staré město) is founded in 1231.
- The Lesser Town (Malá Strana) is founded in 1257.

14th century - Prague's Golden Age

- John of Luxembourg rules the country (1310-1346).
- The Prague Castle Area (Hradčany) is founded around 1320.
- The Old Town Hall is founded in 1338.
- Judith Bridge collapses in a flood in 1342.
- Charles IV rules the country (1346-1378) and will be remembered as the most beloved Czech king.
- Prague becomes one of the most prosperous cities in Europe and the cultural capital of Central
- Europe.
- The Prague bishopric is upgraded to an archbishopric.
- Construction of St. Vitus cathedral begins.
- The New Town (Nové město) is founded in 1348.
- Charles University is established in 1348 and becomes the first university in Central Europe.
- Charles IV elected Holy Roman Emperor in 1355; Prague becomes the capital of the Holy Roman
- Empire.
- Construction of Charles Bridge begins in 1357.

15th century
- The Hussite wars are sweeping the country from 1419 to 1437 as a result of the religious conflicts
- between the Hussites and the Roman Catholic Church. Many historical artifacts are destroyed and
- the Prague Castle deteriorates.

16th century and Prague's Second Golden Age

- The reign of the Habsburg dynasty begins in 1526 and the seat of power moves to Vienna.
- Prague Castle is reconstructed in the Renaissance style and a number of recreational sites are added
- (the Royal Garden, the Belvedere, the Ballgame Hall, etc.)
- Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor, is crowned the Czech king in 1575 and moves his court back to
- Prague in 1583. Prague becomes the center of science and alchemy and earns the nickname "Magic
- Prague". Many famous scientists are attracted to Prague, such as astronomers Tycho de Brahe and
- Johannes Kepler.

17th century
- The Protestant uprising begins in 1618.
- Protestants are severely defeated in the Battle of the White Mountain (bitva na Bílé hoře) in 1620.
- The Dark Age of the Czech history (doba temna) begins.
- Prague loses importance and the Prague Castle deteriorates.

18th century
- The four independent urban areas of Prague (Old Town, Malá Strana, Hradčany, New Town) are
- united by Joseph II in 1784.
- A Czech nationalist movement called the National Revival (národní obrození) begins in 1784.
- The Czech language, culture and national identity are being brought back to life.
- Joseph II issues the Edict of Tolerance in 1781, granting political and religious rights to religious
- minorities.

19th century
- The Industrial Revolution begins.
- A railway between Vienna and Prague opens in 1845.
- The growing industry results in an increase of Prague's Czech population as people move to the city
- from the countryside.
- Josefov is added to Prague's historical center in 1850.
- The National Revival continues. Czech institutions are established to celebrate the Czech history
- and culture: the National Theater opens in 1868, the National Museum opens in 1890.

20th century
- The Austro-Hungarian empire falls in 1918 and Prague becomes the capital of independent
- Czechoslovakia.
- Prague Castle becomes the seat of the first president of Czechoslovakia, Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk.
- Prague becomes close with Paris between WWI and WWII.
- Prague and the rest of the country are occupied by Nazi Germany during World War II (1939-1945).
- The Prague Uprising and liberation by the Soviet Red Army end World War II in 1945.
- The Communist Party seizes power after the February 25, 1948 coup d'etat.
- Alexander Dubček, secretary of the Communist Party, attempts to create "socialism with a human
- face", culminating in the spring of 1968 ("Prague Spring").
- "Prague Spring" fails and five Warsaw Pact member countries invade Czechoslovakia on August 21,
- 1968.
- The Velvet Revolution starts in Prague on November 17, 1989 and brings an end to communism.
- Czechoslovakia becomes a democratic country.

It all started a million years ago

The Prague basin has offered settlements excellent natural conditions since prehistoric times. Its
elevation put it in a position that was relatively easy to defend, and it had fertile soil and plenty of water.

The first hunting party arrived here roughly one million years ago. Long-term inhabitation was
established during the early Stone Age (about 5500 BC - 4300 BC). Archaeologists have documented all
kinds of prehistoric Central European cultures here.

Around halfway through the 6th century AD the Slavs moved into Prague's environs. Germanic and Slavic
settlements existed side by side here for some time, though the Slavs eventually outnumbered their
neighbours. In the 8th century the Slavs built a network of colonies. In the second half of the 9th century
a settlement was founded on the hilltop site where Prague Castle was later built. From here the historical
city unfurled.

A city under a prince's castle and around marketplaces

In the decade of 880 to 890, the Prague settlement became the permanent seat of the ruling Premyslid
princes. Borivoj I first had the Church of Our Lady (kostel P. Marie) built here. The construction of the
Basilica of St. George and St. Vitus' Rotunda followed. At the foot of the castle hill a new settlement
sprung up by the shallow crossing points over the Vltava River, where long trade routes converged.

A connecting road between Prague Castle and the second seat of the principality – the newly built
Vysehrad – was another important route to the newly established town. The establishment of Prague's
episcopacy in 973 strengthened its central position in the nascent Czech state.

During the 11th century the medieval city began to expand from the right bank of the Vltava River and
around a large marketplace that is today's Old Town Square (Staromestske namesti). From the start, the
city evolved as a multinational centre: Na Porici was once a settlement of German merchants, and the
oldest reference to a Jewish settlement comes from the end of the 11th century.

Prague's three towns

Medieval Prague originated as an agglomeration of towns and several smaller settlements of craftsmen,
merchants, and farmers. Stone fortifications protected Prague's Old Town as it grew from the right bank
of the Vltava. In 1257, Premysl Otakar II founded Prague's Smaller Town (Mensi Mesto - later renamed
Lesser Town, Mala Strana) on the left bank and summoned colonists from northern Germany to settle
there. In the 1330's Prague's third town - Hradcany - was established as a town of subjects under the
administration of the burgrave of Prague Castle.
The Imperial Seat and Prague's fourth town

Woodcut from the Nurnberg Chronicle (1493)

With the accession of the Luxembourg family to the Czech throne, the Romanesque city was converted to
the Gothic style. John of Luxembourg strengthened the legal stature of Prague's towns and laid the
cornerstone of Prague's cathedral. During his reign, Pope Clement VI promoted Prague's diocese to
archdiocese.

John's son and successor, Charles IV, dutifully carried out his program to transform Prague into a second
Rome, the European centre of spirituality, politics, and commerce. In 1348 he founded Prague's New
Town (Nove Mesto) over an expanse of 360 hectares – a modern town in the form of an extensive area
surrounding the Old Town. In Prague, during the same year, he established Central Europe's oldest
university.

The Prague Hussites

After Charles' death, university professor Jan Hus, one of the most famous medieval heretics, began to
spread his reform-centred teachings. The Hussite Wars began in 1419 with the New Town Insurrection.

Prague also headed the nobility's uprising against the Habsburgs in 1547. Although the brutal defeat of
the estate owners weakened Prague's position of power, its royal towns held their key cultural role even
during the fading of the Gothic style and the entry of the Renaissance.

The Imperial Seat of Rudolph II

Prague around 1657

In 1583 Emperor Rudolph II took up residence in Prague Castle and made Prague the centre of European
politics, art and science. An international clique of artists around the Emperor's court led the
development of European Mannerism, and Prague's towns were forming a new Renaissance city of
culture.
The carefully selected collective of artists and scientists that Rudolph II brought to Prague to work, or at
least to visit, is impressive: painters Giuseppe Arcimboldo, Bartholomew Spranger, Hans von Aachen,
Josef Heintz, Jacob Hoefnagel, Petr Stevens, Roelant Savery, and Hans Mont; sculptors Adrian de Vries
and Giovanni Battista Quadri; etcher Wenceslas Hollar; copper engraver Aegidius Sadeler; goldsmiths
Paul van Vianen, Anton Schweinberger, and Jan Vermeyen; gemstone cutter Ottavio Miseroni; poetess
Elisabeth Westonia; composers Filip de Monte, Charles Luyton and Jakob Handl-Gallus; philosopher and
theologist Giordano Bruno; physicist Michael Mayer, astronomer Tycho de Brahe; astronomer and
mathematician Johannes Kepler; mathematician and machinist Joost B�rgi; mathematician John Dee;
physician and alchemist Anselm Boethius de Boodt; the scholarly rabbi Jehuda Low ben Bezalel; and
spiritualist Edward Kelley.

The death of Rudolph II in 1612 marked the end of the most celebrated period in Prague's history. His
successor, Emperor Matthias, returned the Habsburg seat back to Vienna.

Another insurrection of the nobility ended with the slaughter of the Battle of White Hill (Bila Hora) in
1620. This was followed by the Thirty Years War. The Saxons plundered the city, already ravaged after
the Battle of White Hill, from 1631 to 1632. Then in 1648 the Swedes did the same. The city's fall from
an imperial seat to a provincial town prompted an economic collapse and a decrease in Prague's
population.

The Baroque fortress of Prague

Prague around 1800

The restorations that took place following the Thirty Years War were already connected with a new style
– Baroque. Baroque buildings both new and reconstructed enriched the Prague's medieval city plan with
new dominant features and accents. Since the Renaissance period, a substantial part of construction
activity, from planning to the smallest finishing touches, had been in the hands of members of the Italian
community.

Prague's strategic importance was expressed not only in the construction of extensive Baroque
fortifications but also in unsettled wartime affairs: in 1741 – 1742 French troops occupied Prague and in
1744 Prussian troops occupied the city, laying siege to it again in 1757. In 1784, by the order of Emperor
Joseph II, the four so-far independent towns of Prague (Old Town, New Town, Lesser Town and
Hradcany) were joined to form one single city.
The new city of Prague beyond the fortifications

Within the walls of the city's fortress, Prague did not feel the onset of industry and the influx of provincial
residents in the 19th century. Immediately beyond the ramparts, however, several new towns began to
grow, including Karlin, Liben, Holesovice, Smichov, Kralovske Vinohrady, Zizkov, and others.

The city received a new promenade road with the demolition of the fortifications between the Old and
New Towns and the filling of the fortress moat. An embankment was built along the Vltava River. Several
new public buildings rose along here, all built in the Neo-Renaissance style. In 1874 most of the Baroque
fortifications and their bastions were taken down.

Prague – the metropolis of an independent state

A unique cultural environment sparked Prague's transformation into a large modern European city,
primarily through the coexistence of Czech, German and Jewish cultures. The development of original
Cubist architecture was interrupted by World War I, which positioned Prague as the capital city of an
independent state.

The transformation into a big modern city continued at an increasing rate and Prague swiftly became a
well-known point on the map of modern European architecture. During his visit in 1928 Le Corbusier
himself commented with envy on Prague's large Functionalist buildings.

Prague grew in terms of both its surface area and population. The Law of Greater Prague of 1920
expanded the city and in 1922 it incorporated several neighbouring towns and citizens.

An occupied city

Not even the economic crisis at the turn of the 1920's could stop the city's expansion. However, a
disruption occurred, causing Czechoslovakia to lose its sovereignty in 1938. On March 15, 1939, the
Germans occupied all of Czechoslovakia and Adolf Hitler came to Prague.

The occupation resulted in the decimation of Prague's Jewish community, in which roughly 40 000 of its
members were murdered. Losses incurred by bombardments and battles during the Red Army's
liberation of Prague, though far from trivial, fortunately did not damage the overall character of the city.

History

Prague, nicknamed the Golden City, is the capital of the Czech republic
and ancient Bohemia. The offices of the current President of the Czech
Republic, Vaclav Klaus, are in the Prague Castle. Today, Prague looks like
a fairytale village and is more beautiful than at any other time during its
one thousand-year history.

Before the Holocaust, and for many centuries, it was one of the most
important Jewish centers in Europe. Documentary evidence reveals that
Jews have lived in Prague since 970 C.E. By the end of the 11th century, a
Jewish community had been fully established.

In the late 11th century and early 12th century, the Jews of Prague suffered
from persecution: first, in 1096, at the hands of the Crusaders, and
second, during the siege of the Prague Castle in 1142. During the siege,
the oldest synagogue in Prague and sections of the Jewish quarter on the
left side of the Vltava (Moldau) River near the castle were burned down.
Many survivors of the crusades were forced to convert to Christianity. In
1179, the church announced that Christians should avoid touching Jews.
In this period, civil rights granted to Jews were severely limited and they
were forced to build their community on the right bank of the Vltava, close
to Staromestske Namesti, the Old Town Square. This limited their
movements and identified them as a minority group. This was the origin of
the Jewish ghetto. By day movement was free, but in the evening and on
festivals the gates of the ghetto were locked.

The situation did not improve in the early 13th century. In 1215, the
Fourth Lateran Council mandated that Jews must wear distinctive clothes,
were prohibited from holding public office and were limited in the amount
they could charge for interest on loans. Jews were also considered
servants (servi camerae) of the Royal chambers.

During the early to mid 14th century, Emperor Charles IV and his
son/successor, Wenceslas, relinquished some of their power over the
Jewish community and allowed others to manage Jewish affairs in return
for a large sum of money. Charles IV and Wenceslas allowed estates to
renege on loans owned to Jewish lenders. This was the beginning of the
power struggle, which lasted into the 15th and 16th centuries, between
royalty, Burgher landowners and the countryside nobility over the control
of Jewish affairs and finances.

During Easter 1389, members of the Prague clergy announced that Jews
had desecrated the host (Eucharistic wafer) and the clergy encouraged
mobs to pillage, ransack and burn the Jewish quarter. Nearly the entire
Jewish population of Prague (3,000 people) perished. Many of the
remaining women and children were baptized. One of the few survivors,
Rabbi Avigdor Kara (who lived until 1439 and whose tomb is preserved in
the Old Jewish Cemetery), wrote a moving elegy describing the attack;
this elegy is still read every year in Prague on Yom Kippur.

In the 15th century, the Hussite Wars brought a decline in royal authority.
A new political balance existed that favored the nobility and Burgher
(middle class residents of the cities) and landowners living in the
countryside. Jews were forced to pledge allegiance to various groups and
to give them money in return for protection. However, it was unclear
which side could offer the best protection, leaving Jews to play one side
off the other. During this period, the Burgher populations within the cities
began to take jobs once held by Jews, such as banking.

In the second half of the 15th century, the first Hebrew press was
established in Prague. In the beginning it was small, but it began to grow
and gain a reputation around Europe, especially for its Passover
Haggadah, which became the model in Europe for subsequent haggadot.

Prague Renaissance

The 16th century is considered to be the age of the Prague Renaissance.

The ghetto became a center of Jewish mysticism. Artisans and
intellectuals came from all over Europe and congregated in Prague. For
the most part, Jews were isolated from the “high” culture outside their
community; however, a number of Jews became mathematicians,
astronomers, geographers, historians, philosophers and artists and
participated in the Renaissance.

In 1501, the landed nobility, called the Bohemian Lantag, reaffirmed the
ancient privileges of the Jews of Prague and fostered an open atmosphere
for economic activity.

From 1522 to 1541, the Jewish population of Prague almost doubled;

many Jewish refugees, who were expelled from Moravia, Germany, Austria
and Spain, came to Prague. The Jewish Quarter officially became the
ghetto, however, its transition was not marked by any known legislation.
During this period, the ghetto expanded because Jews were given
permission to acquire lands adjacent to the ghetto to be used to build
homes.

In 1541, a struggle between Ferdinand I and the Burghers resulted in a

Burgher demand that Jews be expelled from Prague. Ferdinand I
announced the Jews would have to leave Prague, but lifted the ban four
years later (the actual expulsion only lasted two years since the ban only
went into effect two years after it was announced). Another temporary
expulsion for the Jews of Prague took place in 1557. Following Ferdinand’s
death in 1564, the situation improved for Prague Jewry.

During the reign of Maximilian (1564-1576) and Rudolf II (1576-1612),

there was a golden age for Jewry in Prague. Rudolph was considered a
weak leader and was indifferent to the Catholic Counter-Reformation in
the Hapsburg Empire. This allowed a large number of scientists and
intellectuals to assemble in Prague and speak and practice without
impediments from the church. Economic freedom was given to the Jews
and a flowering of Jewish culture occurred.
 One of the famous Jewish scholars and educators of
The Maharal's Grave the time was Rabbi Judah Loew ben Bezalel (1525-
1609), also known as the Maharal. Rabbi Loew
published more than 50 religious and philosophical
books and became the center of legends, as the
mystical miracle worker who created the Golem. The
Golem is an artificial man made of clay that was
brought to life through magic and acted as a guardian
over the Jews. The Maharal had positive relations with
Rudolph II and was even invited to his castle. About
7,000 Jews lived in Prague during the time of Rabbi
Loew.

Three other well-known Jewish figures of the time were David Gans
(1541-1613), a mathematician, historian and astronomer; Jacob Bashevi
(1580-1634), a financier and the first Jew to be knighted under the
Hapsburg Empire; and Mordechai Maisel, a brilliant financier, businessman
and philanthropist. Maisel served as the mayor of the Jewish town,
sponsored many Jewish organizations, funded the building of a public
bathhouse, ritual baths and an almshouse, and donated money to build
the Jewish town hall and numerous synagogues (including the High
Synagogue). He paid for the paving of the streets of the Jewish quarter,
gave money to charities to help feed the poor, clothe the needy and
provide doweries for poor women. Not only did Maisel contribute money
for local causes, he donated Torah scrolls to Jewish communities around
the world, including Jerusalem. Maisel also maintained good relations with
Rudolf II; he helped Rudolph finance a war against Turkey and in return
was given permission to loan money.

In the early 18th century, more Jews lived in Prague than anywhere else in
world. In 1708, Jews accounted for one-quarter of Prague’s population.
Unfortunately, the golden age ended with the ascension of Empress Maria
Theresa who expelled the Jews from Prague from 1745 to 1748.

The Jews returned to Prague, the gates of the ghetto were opened, and
conditions improved during the reign of Emperor Joseph II (1780-90).
Joseph II issued the Edict of Toleration in October 1781, which affirmed
the notion of religious tolerance. He allowed Jews to participate in all
forms of trade, commerce, agriculture and the arts. Jews were
encouraged to build factories and school systems. Jews were even allowed
to attend institutions of higher learning. In the chedar (study rooms), a
western-style education was encouraged. Jews were not only taught
Hebrew and Yiddish, but also basic accounting. The government also
required Jews to switch their business records from Hebrew and Yiddish to
German to facilitate better government monitoring. In fact, the Jews
appreciated Joseph II so much that they named the Jewish town, Josefov,
after him, and this name still exists today.
 During the 19th century, Jews gradually became
emancipated. Temporary civil equality was granted to
Jews under the law in 1849. The ghetto was abolished in
1852 and Josefov became a district of Prague. In the
1800s, Jews became caught up in the culture wars
between the Czech-speaking middle class and the
German-speaking members of the Austro-Hungarian
Empire. From the 1830s to the 1870s, Jews began to
adopt the German language and assimilated German
cultural patterns. Following the 1870s, however, the
growth of Czech nationalism increased the level of
antagonism felt by the Jews. By the last quarter of the 19th century, a
network of Jewish institutions dedicated to Czech-Jewish acculturation
emerged; however, not all Jews supported them - some remained faithful
to German language and culture, while others favored the new ideology of
Zionism.

In 1899, Zionism began to become popular in Prague among the young

professionals and students. They formed their own Zionist organization,
Bar Kochba, which published Selbstwehr (“Self-defense”), a Zionist
biweekly publication in Prague from 1907 to 1938. Conflict between the
Zionists and the Czech-Jewish nationalists existed; Jewish nationalists
(Zionists) did not want to be involved in the national conflict over the
usage of German and Czech language, while the Czech-Jewish
assimilationists were involved because they resented the German
denigration of Czech culture and also wanted to have a rapprochement
between Jews and Slavs in Czech lands.

German was spoken widely among many members of the Prague Jewish
community and continued to be taught despite the tensions with the
Czech-Jewish nationalists. During the first decades of the 20th Century,
German-speaking Jews in Prague produced a large body of internationally
acclaimed literature. The most famous of these writers were Franz Kafka,
Max Brod and Franz Werfel. This is the last generation of writers and
intellectuals in Prague before the outbreak of World War II.

World War II

On March 14, 1939, Slovakia declared independence from Prague and

signed the Treaty of Protection with Nazi Germany. The next day,
Germany occupied Czech lands. At the outbreak of World War II, over
92,000 Jews lived in Prague, almost 20 percent of the city’s population.
Prague was one of the largest Jewish communities in Europe. At least two-
thirds of the Jewish population of Prague perished in the Holocaust.

In the Czech Republic, about 26,000 members of the Czech Jewish

community escaped and emigrated to various countries and regions,
including Palestine, the United States, South America and Western
 Europe. Not all Czech Jews were so fortunate. Of the vast marority of
Czech Jews were imprisoned in Terezin, 80 percent of those were
deported to Auschwitz, Maidanek, Treblinka and Sobibor. Other Czech
Jews were sent directly to death camps. Over 97,000 perished, of which
were 15,000 Czech Jewish children. Only 132 of those children were
known to have survived.

More than a quarter of a million Czechoslovak Jews were murdered in the

Holocaust and more than 60 synagogues in the Czech lands were
destroyed.

Post-World War II

Following the war, about 15,000 Czech Jews remained. By 1950, half of
them emigrated to Israel.

On May 9, 1945, as Germany was being defeated, the Soviet Red Army
entered Prague. A provisional government was installed, but the Soviet
presence enabled the Communist party to gain influence. In February
1948, the provisional government was ousted, and the Communist Party
took power. From 1948 to 1949, the Soviet block supported the newly
created State of Israel and therefore allowed Jews in the Czech Republic
to immigrate to Israel. However, following 1949, emigration was virtually
impossible and Jewish life was stifled by the Communist regime. Under
pressure from Stalin, its leaders were soon encouraged to stamo out
religious and cultural activity, including Judaism. The regime demolished
around 90 synagogues amd dozens of Jewish cemeteries were shut down.

In 1952, Rudolf Slansky, then general secretary of the Czech Communist

Party, and 13 others were accused of being disloyal elements amd of
participating in a Trotskyite-Zionist conspiracy against the Communist
parties in Central Europe. Eleven of the 14 accused were Jewish and eight
among then were executed. In subsequent trials, hundreds of Jews were
sentenced to long-term imprisonment, sent to hard labor withour trial and
dismissed from their posts. Those Jews who remained in Prague kept their
Jewish identity a secret during these times.

By the mid-1960s, the obvious anti-semitism was replaced with state anti-
semitism. Communist rule was unpopular and ruthless, and a movement
demanding “socialism with a human face” gradually emerged in the
1960s. In 1968, a Slovak Communist, Alexander Dubcek, became the
party leader and, in a movement called the Prague Spring, began to
introduce sweeping reforms to make the government more democratic. He
ordered an end to censorship and encouraged Communist reformers to
start a broad debate about the political direction of Czechoslovakia. Many
young Jews were involved in the events of the Prague Spring and were
now able to ask questions openly about the Holocaust and their Jewish
heritage for the first time since World War II.
 The Soviet Union disapproved of these changes and, together with the
troops of other Soviet-bloc/Warsaw Pact countries, invaded
Czechoslovakia in August 1968. Some 90 civilians were shot dead, and
3,400 Jews feld the country. The secret police kept a close eye on the
remaining Jewish community and many Jewish university professors and
intellectuals lost their jobs. The subsequent period of so-called
normalization wiped out all democratic trends and intensified the
stagnation in all spheres of life. From 1968 to 1989, the Holocaust could
not be mentioned, since this was considered a subversive topic by the
secret police and survivors were silenced.

As change began to sweep through Eastern Europe in the late 1980s,

Czechs more openly protested and called for reform. The 1980s also saw
the West’s interest in Prague’s Jewish legacy growing. In 1983 to 1985,
the Jewish Museum held its largest foreign exhibition called “Precious
Legacy” in cities across the United States and Canada. The exhibition had
a great impact on tourism in Prague, and the reforms of Soviet leader
Mikhail Gorbachev were being broadcast and Communist attitudes began
to change throughout Europe.

Demonstrations resulted in the resignation of the Communist party

leadership in November 1989. Alexander Dubcek, the Prague Spring
reformer, was elected chairman of parliament and dissident playwright
Václav Havel, the acknowledged opposition leader who led the “Velvet
Revolution,” a series of strikes, pickets, and celebrations, was named
president on December 29, 1989. In June 1990, the country held its first
free election since 1946. On January 1, 1993, the country split into
Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Prague, the historical capital of the
region since the Ancient Kingdom, was adopted as the capital of the Czech
Republic.

After the election of President Havel, Jewish topics became enormously

popular. Diplomatic relations with Israel, which were broken after the
1967 Six Day War, were restored. The process of restitution of Jewish
property began immediately, and the Federation of Jewish Communities
assembled around 1,000 records of communal Jewish property. The list
was incorporated into a government bill.

The Pinkas Synagogue was reopened in 1992 as a permanent exhibition

site of the Jewish Museum. The Maisel Synagogue was restored in 1995,
followed by the Spanish Synagogue in 1998. Both are also part of the
Jewish Museum. An educational and cultural center was established in
1996, that offers courses on Jewish culture, anti-semitism, Jewish
tradition and religion. A program entitled “Neighbors Who Disappeared”
assists people in tracing Jewish friends or neighbors.
 The Jewish Community Today

Today, the Federation of Jewish Communities says about 3,000 people are
registered members of the Jewish community in the Czech Republic, of
which 1,600 live in Prague. Numbers are difficult to calculate due to
decades of intermarriage and emigration. It is estimated that there are an
additional 10,000 to 15,000 unregistered Jews living in the contry. A
revival of Jewish life is occurring. Many Jews found it easier to be quiet
and hide their identity during the Communist era and so many people
learned of being Jewish only after 1989. The average age in Prague’s
Jewish community has dropped from 70 (the average age in the 1980s) to
about 55 because of increased involvement of younger Jews.

There are a number of secular Jewish organizations that fall under the
auspices of the FJC, including the Union of Jewish Youth, a branch of the
World Union of Jewish Students, sporting clubs Maccabi and Hakoach, the
Women’s Zionist Organization, and the Terezin Initiative, a non-profit that
pursues research into the history of the Nazi’s “Final Solution” in Bohemia
and Moravia.

The center of Jewish life is the historic Jewish Town Hall, which houses
Jewish cultural, social and religious events. A Jewish kindergarten,
sponsored by the Lauder Foundation, recently opened in Prague. A new
Jewish old age home also opened recently. There is also a monthly
journal, Rosh Chodesh, and a radio program called “Shalom Aleichem.”

Prague has many beautiful historic synagogues, and there are three
regularly functioning Orthodox synagogues in Prague: the Altneuschul
(Old-New Synagogue), the oldest functioning synagogue in Europe; the
High Synagogue, which is modern Orthodox; and the Jubilee Synagogue,
also known as the Jerusalem Synagogue. In addition, Chabad also holds
serviced at its center of Parizska Street, in the heart of Josefov. Beit Praha
is a Conservative congregation and conducts Kabbalat Shabbat services
every Friday evening. The Reform community has several congregations
as a result of different splits, the largest of which is Beit Simcha, which is
even older than Beit Praha. The Beit Simcha community center offers
educational programs, Hebrew lessons, and holds Shabbat serviced in its
library. It also houses a private Jewish school and publishes a monthly
magazine called Maskil, which is distributed to all the Jewish communities
and other institutions throughout the country. The other liberal
community, ZLU (Jewish Liberal Union), is a smaller congregation and
rents a room to hold Friday night services.

Although anti-semitism is not considered a problem in the new Czech

Republuc, one of the major problems facing the Jewish community is the
rise of skinheads and many of the Jewish leaders are worried about the
lack of action against the rise of xenophobia and violence perpetrated by
them. They believe the skinheads are misusing their rights to free speech
 and the government should not protect them during their marches. In
November 2007, a right-wing extremist group linked to neo-Nazis planned
a march through the Jewish Quarter. After opposition by the Jewish
leaders, the march was eventually banned by City Hall. A 2000 law
outlaws Holocaust denial and provides for prison sentences of six months
to three years for public denial, questioning and approval of or attempts
to justify the Nazi genocide.There were 5 reported acts of anti-semitism in
the Czech Republic in 2007, but anti-semitism remains on the periphery of
the society for the most part.

Tourist Sites

Prague is filled with many Jewish historical sites that

give testament to its rich past as one of the centers of
Jewish life. Many of these can be found in Josefov,
site of the Jewish ghetto and village. A popular tourist
site, the Hebrew and Roman faced clocks, (the
clock with the Hebrew letters turns counterclockwise)
can be found on the offices of the Jewish Community
Federation of the Czech Republic and the Jewish Town
Hall. The Jewish Town Hall was built in the 16th
century by the Jewish mayor of Josefov. Today, it
serves as the center of the Jewish community in
Prague and houses the offices of the Federation of
Jewish Communities in the Czech Lands. There are
two kosher restaurants in Prague. Shalom, which is located within the
Town Hall, and the King Salomon Restaurant on Siroka Street opposite the
entrance to the Pinkas synagogue.

A life-sized bust in black bronze of Franz Kafka on the corner of U Radnice

and Maiselova marks the place where he was born on July 3, 1883. In
1991, a Kafka Museum was opened in the house where he was born. In
the museum, there are exhibits highlighting Kafka’s life, as well as Jewish
life in Prague.

The largest and most complete collection of Judaica can be found at the
Jewish Museum. It houses a collection of approximately 40,000 artistic
artifacts and 100,000 items of printed material. Synagogue objects,
mainly textiles and silver, comprise almost two-thirds of the collection.
The rest of the collection consists of household ritual items, paintings,
drawings, prints, manuscripts and photographs, as well as artifacts from
the Terezin concentration camp, including a unique collection of children’s
drawings.

Founded in 1906, the original intent of the Jewish Museum was to

preserve artifacts from the synagogues of Prague that were being
liquidated at the turn of the century due to reconstruction of the Jewish
town. The museum was closed to the public after Nazi occupation in 1939.
 The Nazis decided not to destroy the museum, but instead use it as a
“Museum of an Extinct Race.” In fact, Hitler intended the entire Jewish
Quarter of the city to become a museum to the vanished race. The
Germans hired Dr. Karel Stein, historian and founder of the museum, to
catalogue tens of thousands of confiscated items from more than 153
destroyed Jewish communities throughout Bohemia and Moravia. The
wartime Jewish staff of the museum during Nazi rule devoted themselves
to preserving this legacy, amidst constant threat of deportation and death,
having already lost their families to the Nazi concentration camps. The
staff only survived while they could prove that they were useful to the
Nazis. The vast majority lost this fight and were deported to Terezin and
Auschwitz. One survived however; Hana Volavkova returned to Prague
after the war and became the director of the Jewish Museum. The
museum became a storehouse for over 200,000 objects, books and
archival material from all over Central Europe.

Following World War II, the museum was administered by the Council of
Jewish Communities in Czechoslovakia. In 1950, ownership was
transferred to the state, and the museum was renamed the State Jewish
Museum. During the 1950s, when Jewish themes were suppressed, the
only exhibition at the Jewish Museum displayed children’s drawings from
Terezin. In 1961, Vilem Benda became the director and the “Millennium
Judaicum Bohemicum” (The Thousand Years of the Jews of Bohemia)
exhibit opened in 1968. However, the Soviets soon invaded (August
1968), and the museum fell into disrepair.

After the collapse of communism in 1989, the museum’s status changed

again. It is now an independent body governed by a council composed of
two representatives of the Community; two representatives of the
Federation of Jewish Communities (FJC), which serves as an umbrella
organization for the Jewish institutions in the country; and one
representative from the Ministry of Culture. After ten years of restoration,
the Jewish Museum is one of the most famous Jewish museums in the
world. The director today is Leo Pavlat, the son of a Holocaust survivor.

Besides the main building, the Jewish Museum rents the Old Jewish
Cemetery, the Pinkas Synagogue, the Ceremonial Hall, the Klausen
Synagogue, the Maisel Synagogue and the Spanish Synagogue from the
Jewish Community to display items belonging to the museum.

The Chevra Chadisha building (Burial Brotherhood Society of Prague),

situated at the entrance of the Jewish Cemetery, was built in the early
1900s. The responsibility of the society was to watch over and take care
of the dead body in the hours before it was going to be buried. Today this
building is part of the Jewish Museum and contains a unique collection of
children’s drawings and poems from the Terezin concentration camp.

The Old Jewish Cemetery

 It is the oldest Jewish cemetery in Europe,
opened from the 15th century to the late
18th century. In 1439, Avigdor Kara was the
first person to be buried there. Over the
next 400 years, about 200,000 residents of
the ghetto in Prague were buried in its
confines. Since the cemetery could only
hold about 10 percent of that amount, the
tombs are layered on top of each other, at
one section reaching 12 layers. Two of the cemetery’s most famous tombs
are Rabbi Loew (1609) and Mordechai Maisel (1601). Since 1990, the
Jewish Museum of Prague has been conserving and restoring the
cemetery. Today, about 12,000 tombstones remain.

The New Cemetery

In 1890, a second Jewish cemetery was founded in Prague and opened

next to the main Christian cemetery. The tomb of Franz Kafka can be
found there, with a memorial stone for his three sisters, all of whom
perished in the Holocaust.

Synagogues of Prague

There are seven synagogues open today in Prague; during the Nazi era all
seven were used to store Judaica items. Five of those synagogues can be
found in the remains of the ghetto.

Staranova Synagogue is also known as Altneuschul (the

Old-New Synagogue). It was originally built in 1270 and
was called the New Synagogue because it was the second
synagogue built in the Jewish quarter; the first synagogue
no longer exists. The original floor still exists, however,
other parts of the building have been rebuilt because of
damage from flooding in the Jewish quarter. It is the oldest
synagogue in Europe. During the Nazi occupation, it
showcased Jewish art, religious objects and books. Today,
services are still being conducted there, continuing a tradition of nearly
700 years (only interrupted between 1941-1945).

The Maisel Synagogue was originally built in 1591, thanks

to a special permit given by Emperor Rudolph II. The
synagogue is named after Mordechai Maisel, whose
money was used to build the synagogue. It has been
damaged in several fires and its current facade is due to
reconstruction in 1862 to 1864. In the 19th century, the
synagogue was the birthplace of liberal Judaism. During
the Holocaust, it housed more than 15,000 Jewish objects
and art. Today, it functions as the primary repository of religious objects,
such as silver Torah pointers, for the Jewish Museum.

The Pinkas Synagogue, built in a

Renaissance style, was first mentioned in
1492. Located in a flood zone, it was
frequently being repaired and
reconstruction occurred in 1953. One of its
famous members was Franz Kafka, who
prayed there with his family. Following
World War II, it became a memorial to
Moravian and Bohemian Jews who perished
in the war. On the walls of the synagogue, there is a list of 77,297 names
of those who died. Following the communist occupation in August 1968,
all of the names were erased, but these areas have since been restored.
The synagogue was closed from 1968 until 1992 because of the
penetration of underground water. Today you may once again see the
over 77,000 names of Jews murdered in the Holocaust as well as a display
of Jewish pictures and drawings on the upper level.

The High Synagogue, located adjacent to the Jewish Town

Hall, can be found on the second floor of a building, not
ground level. Originally, it was only accessible from the first
floor of the Jewish Town Hall. It was used to service the
seniors of the ghetto. At the turn of the century, its original
entrance was blocked and a new one was built on Cervena
Ulicka (Red Lane). Today, the High Synagogue is accessible
from both the first floor of the Jewish Town Hall and from the
Cervana Ulicka. Under the Communist reign, all synagogue,s including the
High Synagogue, belonged to the state Jewish Museum. Today, the
synagogue belongs to the Jewish community and is not part of the Jewish
Museum.

The Klausen Synagogue is located adjacent to the

entrance to the Old Jewish Cemetery. It was built on
land acquired by the late Mordechai Maisel. The
synagogue, built in an early baroque style, was
completed in 1694. It was remodeled a couple of time
and the last adaptation took place again in 1883 to
1884. During the Holocaust, imagery of the Jewish
festivals and life cycle events were displayed. The
synagogue was restored to display exhibitions of old
Hebrew manuscripts and prints for the Jewish Museum.

Built in 1867 to 1868, using Moorish decorations, the

Spanish Synagogue provides an interesting contrast to the
other synagogues in Prague because its interior is filled
with Moorish and Islamic designs and art. During the
 Holocaust, it was used to store Torah curtains. Today, it houses the
headquarters for the entire Jewish Museum system.

Finally, there is the Jubilee Synagogue. This synagogue was built in the
early 20th century in the New Town of Prague. Currently, it is used to hold
prayer services.

Terezin Concentration Camp

The Terezin concentration camp, located about 60 kilometers from Prague,

was meant to be the “model” concentration camp, which was shown to the
outside world. Originally built as a military fortress by Joseph II, Terezin
was a Big Fortress with a Small Fortress inside of it. While a military
garrison, it looked like a mini-village, or a ghetto. Jews from Bohemia,
Moravia and the rest of Europe were brought here and then were sent to
the death camps. More than 30,000 Jewish adults and children died in
Terezin. Once a child turned 14 years old, they were treated as an adult.
Fifteen hundred children lived at Terezin during the Holocaust, and only
100 survived. The ashes of 30,000 people were thrown into the Eiger
River in 1944.

A small storeroom inside the town of Terezin was used

as a makeshift synagogue during the Holocaust. Fading
Hebrew inscriptions can be found on the walls; on the
front wall is a verse from the Amidah prayer, “May our
eyes be able to envision your return to Zion in mercy.”
Another wall, which stands near the railway track used
to transport Jews to Auschwitz, also contains verses in
Hebrew from the liturgy, as well as drawings of Jewish
symbols. The writings and drawings were most likely
done by a German Jewish ceramic worker who lived in
the town during the Holocaust; the Nazis needed
craftsmen for labor and therefore let them live in relative comfort. This
room was unknown to the public until after the fall of Communism
because the owner of the home kept the room secret; it was forbidden to
talk about Judaism during the Communist rule.