Historic Jewish Quarter of Prague

Prague · 1926, 1946

Historic Jewish Quarter of Prague

Published August 14, 2026

From 1926 to 1937, cameras walk Prague’s old Jewish quarter past the Hebrew clock, the Old-New Synagogue, and the cemetery, then in 1946 they film a Torah ceremony inside the Old-New.

Use the year buttons to jump: 1926 opens the file; 1934 begins at about 6:31; 1935 at about 8:33; 1936 at about 9:57; 1937 at about 10:25; 1946 at about 16:01. About 18 minutes in all.

Hands the other way

On the Jewish Town Hall gable, a Hebrew clock runs counterclockwise under a Roman face, with a Star of David on the spire. In 1934 the camera finds the tower from the street, then in 1935, 1936, and 1937 it comes back to the same dial. The Town Hall stands on Maiselova, next to the Old-New Synagogue, and both clocks are still on that corner.

Sebastian Londenspreger, the royal clockmaker who also kept the St Vitus clocks, made the works, which are about 250 years old. Until 1891 they showed Prague local time, set from the Marian column on Old Town Square; after that they show Central European time.

1934 film frame: Jewish Town Hall from the street, Hebrew clock on the gable — 1934: the Jewish Town Hall from the street. The Hebrew clock sits on the gable.

1935 film frame: Jewish Town Hall tower, Hebrew clock below the Roman clock — 1935: the same tower, both clocks.

1936 film frame: Hebrew clock on the Jewish Town Hall gable — 1936: the Hebrew clock on the gable.

1937 film frame: Jewish Town Hall and Old-New Synagogue from above the street — 1937: the Town Hall and the shul from above the street.

Jewish Town Hall today, Hebrew clock on the gable and Roman clock on the tower — Today: the same Town Hall, both clocks. Photograph: Yair Haklai.

The stepped gable

The stepped brick gable of the Old-New Synagogue sits on the same street as the Town Hall, on Červená and Maiselova, with a low annex against the wall. The 1926, 1934, 1936, and 1937 films hold that gable in the street line. Built in the last third of the thirteenth century, it is still the main shul of the Prague kehillah.

1926 film frame: Old-New Synagogue stepped gable from the street, Town Hall behind — 1926: the stepped gable from the street, Town Hall behind.

1934 film frame: Old-New Synagogue and Jewish Town Hall from the street — 1934: the same gable, from the street beside the Town Hall.

1936 film frame: Old-New Synagogue stepped gable from the street — 1936: the same gable in the street line.

1937 film frame: Old-New Synagogue brick gable from the street — 1937: the same gable from the street.

Old-New Synagogue today, stepped brick gable and lower wall from the street — Today: the same gable and lower wall. Photograph: Daniel Baránek.

A sign on the wall

Pinkas Synagogue sits on the same block. In 1936 a wall sign reads PINKASOVA SYNAGOGA and PROHLÍDKA (tour / viewing) beside the stone arch. The houses around that arch came down in the asanace (the clearance that cut new streets through the old Jewish quarter), in 1907 and 1910, after which the street was raised and the shul sat lower. In 1925 a heritage commission asked for the fill to be taken out; it was not, and the building remains below street level.

1936 film frame: wall sign reading PINKASOVA SYNAGOGA and PROHLÍDKA beside a stone arch — 1936: the Pinkas Synagogue sign beside the arch, with PROHLÍDKA (tour / viewing).

Pinkas Synagogue today, courtyard and tiled roofs — Today: the same shul from the courtyard. Photograph: Chmee2.

Tablets and the star

The Maisel Synagogue gable carries the Ten Commandments and a Star of David, and in 1934 and 1935 the cameras hold on those tablets. The shul was built for the Prague kehillah under Mordechai Maisel in the late sixteenth century. The building is a Jewish Museum hall now, and the street in front of it is ticketed museum traffic.

1934 film frame: Maisel Synagogue gable with the Ten Commandments and a Star of David — 1934: the Maisel Synagogue gable. Tablets and the star.

1935 film frame: Maisel Synagogue gable, tight on the Decalogue and the Star of David — 1935: the Maisel Synagogue gable, tight on the Decalogue and the star.

Maisel Synagogue today, white gable with the Ten Commandments and Star of David — Today: the Maisel Synagogue gable from the street. Photograph: Michal Kmínek.

Jídelna Hirsch

At Bílkova 19 the 1934 film finds a kosher kitchen sign, Jídelna Hirsch (Hirsch Dining Room), in Czech, Hebrew, and Yiddish. The house number is still on that door; the kitchen and the trilingual board are gone.

Bílkova 19 today, peach facade and doorway, no Hirsch kitchen sign — Today: Bílkova 19. The kitchen is gone. Photograph: Jiří Matějíček.

The hall and the banner

In 1937 the Ceremonial Hall turret sits at the edge of the old cemetery, with a civic banner on the neighboring building: OBČANSKÁ KI…, for Občanská knihtiskárna, a civic print shop. The Chevra Kadisha, the burial society, built the hall in 1906 and 1908, and later leased it to the Jewish Museum. In the mid-1930s the shop’s imprint said Maiselova 17; by 1939 a directory puts them at U Starého hřbitova 4, the street of the hall. The hall is a museum building now; the neighboring building no longer carries that shop’s banner.

1937 film frame: Ceremonial Hall turret, with a civic banner on the neighboring building to the side — 1937: the Ceremonial Hall at left; the OBČANSKÁ KI… banner (Občanská knihtiskárna, a civic print shop) is on the building beside it.

Ceremonial Hall today, stone turret and doorway — Today: the Ceremonial Hall. Photograph: Jim Linwood.

Among the stones

Stacked stones sit under the trees, a crowded field the cameras walk in 1926, 1934, and 1937. The Old Jewish Cemetery took burials from 1439 to 1787, later stones stacked over earlier graves. After it closed, the Prague kehillah buried at Žižkov, on Fibichova. A visitor now pays for a path through the old field, on the same crowded ground.

1926 film frame: Old Jewish Cemetery, stones among trees — 1926: stacked stones under the trees.

1934 film frame: overgrown Old Jewish Cemetery — 1934: the same crowded field, still woodland.

1937 film frame: overgrown Old Jewish Cemetery, stones among undergrowth — 1937: stacked stones in unmanaged woodland.

Old Jewish Cemetery today, a crowded field of stones — Today: the same crowded stones. Photograph: Uoaei1.

The Nefele mound

In 1926 two men in hats stand among the trees by the Nefele memorial. A 1903 cut went through the cemetery; stones were set in the wall, and a burial-society monument went up on the Nefele mound in 1906. Cemetery conservation on this field has been running since 1946, with the memorial still on the mound.

1926 film frame: Nefele burial-society memorial among trees, two men in hats — 1926: the Nefele memorial among the trees.

Klausen end of the Old Jewish Cemetery today, the Nefele side of the stone field — Today: the Klausen end of the cemetery, the Nefele side.

Maisel’s house

Mordechai Maisel, who built the Maisel Synagogue in the late sixteenth century, is buried under a house-shaped monument in the old cemetery. The 1926 film finds it among the trees; a visitor now sees it from a boarded walk.

Mordechai Maisel’s grave today, the same house-shaped monument beside the path — Today: the same monument, beside the paid path. Photograph: Yair Haklai.

Visitor stones

The Maharal, Rabbi Judah Loew, was niftar in 1609, and his grave is the cemetery’s most visited monument. In 1926 the pinecone finial is still on the stone, and people leave small stones on the ledges, the usual mark of a Jewish grave visit.

1926 film frame: the Maharal’s grave among trees — 1926: the Maharal’s grave, pinecone finial still on the monument.

1937 film frame: the Maharal’s grave — 1937: the same monument.

The Maharal’s grave today, visitor stones on the ledges — Today: the same monument. Visitor stones sit on the ledges on purpose. Photograph: Yair Haklai.

The lion and the shield

Hendl Bassevi was the wife of Jacob Bassevi von Treuenberg. Her grave in the old cemetery carries a seated lion with its paws on a shield, and the 1926 film holds on that carving. A small plaque now names her on the same path.

1926 film frame: Hendl Bassevi’s grave, a seated lion with its paws on a shield — 1926: the lion and shield.

Hendl Bassevi’s grave today, the same monument with lions and a visitor plaque — Today: the same monument. Photograph: Øyvind Holmstad.

After the card

Rabbi David Oppenheim was land rabbi of Prague; he was niftar in 1736, and his grave is the middle stone of a row in the old cemetery. The 1926 film shows an Oppenheimer title card, then ornate markers that are not his grave.

1926 film frame: ornate cemetery markers after the Oppenheimer title card; not Oppenheimer’s grave — 1926: after the Oppenheimer card. This is not his grave.

Rabbi David Oppenheim’s grave today, the middle stone — Today: the middle grave is his. Photograph: Jewish Genealogy Portal.

The iron cage

Inside the Old-New the bimah sits in a wrought-iron cage, before the ark. On 3 October 1946, March of Time (a cinema newsreel) filmed a Torah ceremony there: men in hats and talleisim at that cage. After the war a remnant, the She’eris Hapleitah, used this room again, and the catalog says American Jews gave that Torah to the Prague kehillah. The cage and the ark are still in that room.

1946 film frame: Torah ceremony inside the Old-New Synagogue, wrought-iron bimah cage, men in hats and talleisim — 1946: the iron bimah cage, men in hats and talleisim.

Old-New Synagogue interior today, bimah and ark — Today: the same interior. Photograph: Jose Antonio.

Prague

Jewish Town Hall and Old-New Synagogue
Červená / Maiselova, historic Jewish Quarter, Prague
50.0902, 14.4187

Google Earth view of the Town Hall and the Old-New Synagogue today. Open in Google Earth.

The film and what followed

German troops entered Prague on 15 March 1939. From 1941 the occupation authorities deported Prague’s Jews, emptying the kehillah that had used this street as a street.

A smaller slice of the Žižkov cemetery, on Fibichova, had already been turned into a park under the First Republic. In 1960 communist authorities destroyed most of what remained and turned that ground into a park as well. Between 1985 and 1992 the Žižkov Television Tower was built on the former cemetery, with a northern remnant left beside the tower.

Timeline

Last third of the 13th century: Old-New Synagogue built; still the Prague kehillah’s main shul.
1439, 1787: Old Jewish Cemetery in use; later stones stacked over earlier graves.
1609: The Maharal, Rabbi Judah Loew, is niftar; his grave becomes the cemetery’s most visited monument.
1787, 1890: Žižkov cemetery, on Fibichova, takes the Prague kehillah’s burials after the old cemetery closes; about 40,000 graves.
1891: The Town Hall clocks switch from Prague local time to Central European time.
1893, 1912: The old quarter’s lanes are cleared and the new streets are cut.
1906, 1908: The Chevra Kadisha builds the Ceremonial Hall.
1907, 1910: Houses around Pinkas Synagogue come down in the asanace. The street is raised. In 1925 a heritage commission asks for the fill to be taken out. It is not.
1925: A smaller slice of the Žižkov cemetery is already turned into a park, under the First Republic, before the later communist destruction.
1926: First film in this video: the Old-New Synagogue and the cemetery, including the Nefele mound, Maisel’s grave, the Maharal’s grave, Hendl Bassevi’s, and a card for Oppenheimer.
1934: Second film: the Town Hall clock, the Maisel Synagogue, a kosher kitchen sign on Bílkova, and the old cemetery.
1935: Silent amateur reel: the Hebrew clock, a quarter street, and the Maisel Synagogue gable.
1936: Amateur reel: the Hebrew clock and the Pinkas Synagogue sign.
1937: The Hebrew clock, the shul courtyard, the Ceremonial Hall and the print-shop banner beside it, and the Maharal’s grave up close, with visitor stones on the ledge.
15 March 1939: German occupation of Prague.
1941, 1945: Deportations empty the Prague kehillah.
3 October 1946: March of Time films a Torah ceremony inside the Old-New. The catalog says American Jews gave that Torah.
1960: Communist authorities destroy most of the Žižkov cemetery and turn the ground into a park.
1985, 1992: Žižkov Television Tower built on the former cemetery; a northern remnant remains beside the tower.