The Prague Jewish Quarter, also known as Josefov, is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the city. Located between Prague's Old Town Square and the Vltava River, it is one of the best-preserved Jewish Ghettos in Europe with a museum, six synagogues, a Jewish Town Hall and The Old Jewish Cemetery - among the oldest surviving Jewish burial grounds in the world. Purchase a ticket to the Prague Jewish Museum, take a walking tour through the infamous quarter and visit these historical monuments to learn the unsettling history of the Jewish community in Prague, including their architecture, traditions, customs, and stories.
During the Second World War, as the persecution of the Jews came to a peak with the Nazi occupation, most of Prague's Jewish community was deported to concentration camps. While Prague Jewish Quarter was being cleared the Nazis are believed to have saved its buildings, monuments, and valuable works with the intention of creating a 'museum of an extinct race'. Today, the Prague Jewish Museum, along with the quarter serve the opposite purpose.
Founded in 1906 by Dr. Hugo Lieben and Dr. Augustin Stein, the Prague Jewish Museum is one of the oldest Jewish museums in the world containing an extensive collection of Judaica. Its walls hold 40,000 artifacts, 100,000 books and an archive of the Czech Jewish community history. Entrance to the museum also includes six of the most important Jewish monuments located throughout the quarter, that guests can visit every day of the week except on Saturdays and Jewish holidays: Maisel Synagogue, Spanish Synagogue, Klausen Synagogue, Pinkas Synagogue, the Old Jewish Cemetery and Ceremonial Hall.
