22-595: Spanish Synagogue may refer to: Spanish Synagogue (Prague) Spanish Synagogue (Venice) Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Spanish Synagogue . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Spanish_Synagogue&oldid=933137691 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
44-583: A functionalistic building, designed by Karel Pecánek, was added to the synagogue. Until Second World War it served the Jewish Community as a hospital. The synagogue used the space of the new building as well; there was a vestibule and a winter oratory in it. Since 1935, the appearance of the synagogue has remained essentially unchanged. During the Second World War , confiscated properties of Czech Jewish Communities were stored in
66-489: A church), not around the walls. The Torah ark is designed in the style of mihrab , and has no curtain ( parochet ) today. Since the last restoration in 1998, an exhibition about the modern history of Jews in the Czech Republic can be seen there. It begins with reforms initiated by enlightened Hapsburg Emperor Joseph II Holy Roman Emperor , which started the 'Jewish emancipation' and the social inclusion of Jews into
88-545: A kosher hotel. Three different Jewish magazines are issued every month, and the Prague Jewish community officially has about 1,500 members, but the real number of Jews in the city is estimated to be much higher, between 7,000 and 15,000. Due to years of persecution by both the Nazis and the subsequent Stalinist regime of Klement Gottwald , however, most people do not feel comfortable being registered as such. In addition,
110-799: A packed crowd on 19 November 2016. Arranged as a tribute to ECA Convenor, Alex Klein, the concert was led by the Tel Aviv Cantorial Institute Choir conducted by Orthodox Jewish Cantor Naftali Herstik. History of the Jews in the Czech Republic The history of the Jews in the Czech lands , historically the Lands of the Bohemian Crown , including the modern Czech Republic (i.e. Bohemia , Moravia , and
132-648: A popular legend, the body of Golem (created by the Maharal) lies in the attic of the Old New Synagogue where the genizah of Prague's community is kept. In 1708, Jews accounted for one-quarter of Prague's population. As part of inter-war Czechoslovakia , and before that the Austro-Hungarian Empire , the Jews had a long association with this part of Europe. Throughout the last thousand years, over 600 Jewish communities have emerged in
154-467: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Spanish Synagogue (Prague) The Spanish Synagogue ( Czech : Španělská synagoga , German : Spanische Synagoge , Hebrew : בית הכנסת הספרדי ) is a former Reform Jewish synagogue , located in the area of the so-called Jewish Town , Prague , in the Czech Republic . The synagogue
176-523: Is not the first synagogue at the site. Before it there stood probably the oldest synagogue in Prague Jewish Town, Altschul ( Alte Schule , Old School, Old Synagogue). In the second half of 19th century, the capacity of the Altschul did not suffice. The modernist faction in the community, which renovated it in 1837 for the purpose of moderately reformed services, therefore decided to demolish
198-623: The 118,310 Jews living in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia upon the German invasion in 1939, 26,000 emigrated legally and illegally; 80,000 were murdered by the Nazis; and 10,000 survived the concentration camps. Prague has the most vibrant Jewish community in the entire country. Several synagogues operate on a regular basis, there are three kindergartens, a Jewish day school, two retirement homes, five kosher restaurants, two mikvot , and
220-620: The 19th century, most Bohemian Jews were ambivalent to religion, although this was less true in Moravia. The Jews of Bohemia had the highest rate of intermarriage in Europe: 43.8% married out of the faith, compared to 30% in Moravia. In contrast to Slovak Jews , who were mostly deported by the First Slovak Republic directly to Auschwitz , Treblinka , and other extermination camps, most Czech Jews were initially deported by
242-735: The Czech Republic. Jews are believed to have settled in Prague as early as the 10th century. The 16th century was a "golden age" for Jewry in Prague . One of the famous Jewish scholars of the time was Judah Loew ben Bezalel , known as the Maharal, who served as a leading rabbi in Prague for most of his life. He is buried at the Old Jewish Cemetery in Josefov , and his grave, with its tombstone intact, can still be visited. According to
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#1732775273613264-524: The Czech lands was less prevalent than elsewhere, and was strongly opposed by the national founder and first president, Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk (1850–1937), while secularism among both Jews and non-Jews facilitated integration. Nevertheless, there had been anti-Jewish rioting during the birth of the Czechoslovak Republic in 1918 and 1920. Following a steep decline in religious observance in
286-529: The German occupiers with the help of local Czech Nazi collaborators to Theresienstadt concentration camp and only later killed. However, some Czech Jewish children were rescued by Kindertransport and escaped to the United Kingdom and other Allied countries. Some were reunited with their families after the war, while many lost parents and relatives to the concentration camps. It is estimated that of
308-469: The Kingdom of Bohemia (including Moravia). According to the 1930 census, Czechoslovakia (including Subcarpathian Ruthenia ) had a Jewish population of 356,830. During the 1890s, most Jews were German-speaking and considered themselves Germans. By the 1930s, German-speaking Jews had been numerically overtaken by Czech-speaking Jews; Zionism also made inroads among the Jews of the periphery (Moravia and
330-583: The Sudetenland). In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, thousands of Jews came to Prague from small villages and towns in Bohemia, leading to the urbanization of Bohemian Jewish society. Of the 10 million inhabitants of pre-1938 Bohemia and Moravia, Jews composed only about 1% (117,551). Most Jews lived in large cities such as Prague (35,403 Jews, who made up 4.2% of the population), Brno (11,103, 4.2%), and Ostrava (6,865, 5.5%). Antisemitism in
352-558: The larger society. Many personalities, who have contributed to its economy, science and culture, are mentioned here. Traumatic events of the 20th century are also commemorated. The themes of modern times accords well with the relationship between the synagogue and the Reform Jewish Community. The European Cantors Association held the concert for their 11th Annual Convention in the Spanish Synagogue in front of
374-500: The southeast or Czech Silesia ), goes back many centuries. There is evidence that Jews have lived in Moravia and Bohemia since as early as the 10th century. Jewish communities flourished here specifically in the 16th and 17th centuries, and again in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Local Jews were mostly murdered in the Holocaust , or exiled at various points. As of 2021, there were only about 2,300 Jews estimated to be living in
396-600: The synagogue in 1867 and one year later it was replaced by the new, Spanish Synagogue. Its name presumably refers to the style in which it was built, Moorish Revival style , which was inspired by the art of Arabic period of Spanish history (this name was not always prevalent, in the beginnings it was usually called by German-speaking Jews Geistgasse-Tempel, i.e. Temple in Holy Spirit Street). The architectural plans were designed by Vojtěch Ignác Ullmann and Josef Niklas (an imposing interior decoration). In 1935,
418-534: The synagogue is a gilded and multi-colored parquet arabesque . Its designers, Antonín Baum and Bedřich Münzberger, were inspired by Arabic architecture and art . The synagogue was decorated according to their design in 1882–1893. The disposition of the synagogue is reform – the reading platform, bimah , is situated at the eastern wall, not in the central space as in older synagogues. Benches (not original, but from synagogue in Zruč nad Sázavou ) stand in rows (as in
440-482: The synagogue was re-opened with a ceremony in 1998. The synagogue is two storeys high with a square ground plan . The main hall with a dome is surrounded by three built-in balconies . At the south balcony there is an organ . In the eastern wall there is a great round stained glass window with a central ornament of Magen David ( hexagram ), installed in 1882–1883. Underneath it there is a monumental aron ha-kodesh ( Torah ark ). The most impressive decorative element in
462-552: The synagogue, e.g. the furniture from other synagogues. Ten years after the war, the synagogue was handed over to the Jewish Museum and in 1958–1959 it was completely restored inside. In the following year an exposition of synagogue textiles was opened there. In the 1970s the building became neglected and it was closed after 1982. The restoration started only after the Velvet revolution . Completely restored to its former beauty,
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#1732775273613484-608: Was completed in 1868 in the Moorish Revival style on the site of the presumably oldest synagogue, Old School (German: Altschul ). In 1955 the former synagogue was permanently repurposed as a Jewish museum and is administered by the Jewish Museum in Prague . A small park with a modern statue of Franz Kafka by Jaroslav Róna is situated between the synagogue and the Church of the Holy Spirit . The Spanish Synagogue
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