Old Jewish Cemetery, Prague, Czech Republic

The old Jewish cemetery in Prague is situated in the old Jewish quarter of Josefov in the Old Town

It was based from 1478 to 1786 , succeeding the cemetery called “Jewish garden” which was discovered during archaeological excavations in the Vladislavova street in the New Town.

The exact number of tombstones and dead buried is imprecise because there sometimes several layers of graves , but it is estimated at twelve thousand graves.

The most famous people buried in this cemetery are Judah Loew ben Bezalel better known under the name of Rabbi Löw (d. 1609) , Mordechai Maisel (d. 1601) , David Gans (d. 1613 ) and David Oppenheim (d. 1736 ) .

After the ” final victory ” , the Nazis wanted to establish a global museum of Jewish culture : memory for the Aryans , a devastated people. One element of this exhibition was to be the old Jewish cemetery. That is why it has remained intact. Today is a strange place, eaten by bushes, where people come to gather and meditate .. Praha_Jewish_Cemetery_2003 Prague_Jewish_Cemetery