Ceremonial Hall, Museum and civic building near Old Jewish Cemetery in Prague, Czech Republic
The Ceremonial Hall (Obřadní síň) is a Romanesque Revival building constructed by A. Gabriel and J. Gerstel between 1906 and 1908 for the Prague Jewish Burial Society. Its basement held the morgue, the first floor a room for ritual purification of the dead (taharah), and the second floor a meeting room used for society meetings and annual banquets.
The building was constructed between 1906 and 1908, replacing an earlier mortuary used by the Prague Burial Society. It became part of the Prague Jewish Museum in 1926.
The building's Hebrew name, beit tahara, refers to the ritual purification of the dead, and the German name Zeremonienhalle describes its ceremonial function. The burial society held its annual banquets in the second-floor meeting room, and a cycle of fifteen Baroque-style paintings from around 1772 records the society's rituals and customs.
The Ceremonial Hall stands in Josefov, the former Jewish quarter, beside the Old Jewish Cemetery; the Jewish Museum in Prague has administered the building since 1926. Inside, the exhibition opened after the 1997 reconstruction continues the display on Jewish life milestones from the Klausen Synagogue and covers the Old Jewish Cemetery and other Jewish cemeteries in the Czech lands.
The Burial Society's legacy includes a cycle of fifteen Baroque-style paintings, commissioned around 1772 from an anonymous artist, depicting its rituals and customs. They also record the final period of the Old Jewish Cemetery's history.
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