Old Jewish Cemetery, Prague, Medieval Jewish burial ground in Josefov, Czech Republic
The Old Jewish Cemetery in Prague is a burial ground in the Old Town with thousands of tombstones layered one on top of another. The tight space constraints caused the ground to be built up over centuries, allowing many generations to be buried in a relatively small area.
The cemetery was founded in the 15th century and remained an active burial site for more than 300 years until burials stopped in 1787. During this long period, the site became a center of community life and reflects the deep history of Prague's Jewish population.
Many stones carry symbols that spell out the family name: a goose (Gans in German) for David Gans, scissors for a tailor, a deer for the Zvi family, a lion and grapes on the tumba of Rabbi Judah Löw. Hebrew epitaphs give the name and date of death, with eulogies added from the Renaissance onward.
To visit the cemetery, guests purchase a combined ticket from a museum in the neighborhood, which also provides access to other monuments in the area. It is helpful to wear sturdy shoes as the ground is uneven and you must navigate between the old stones.
The grave of Rabbi Judah Loew ben Bezalel (died 1609), known as Maharal, lies under a tumba carved with a lion and wine grapes. The Golem legend attached to him is not medieval but a later literary invention, first set down in the early 19th century. Visitors leave small stones on the tomb by the hundreds.
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