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Prague Historical Quarters

‘The magic city’, ‘the city with 100 bell towers’, ‘the golden city’, the Old Town, the New Town, the Jewish Quarter … all city quarters are amazing places waiting to be explored. Prague used to be known as the ‘Five Towns‘, and although it has now been divided into 10 separate districts, most visitors concentrate on the five historic towns: Hradcany, Stare Mesto (Old Town), Mala Strana (Lesser Quarter), Nove Mesto (New Town) and the the Jewish Quarter.

In earlier times, the inhabitants of the congested Old Town and Josefov, the old Jewish Quarter, must have felt envious when they looked across to the New Town, where the far-sighted designs of Charles IV and his architects had created broad, open spaces and avenues such as the Charles and Wenceslas squares. Today, however, the Old Town has been beautifully restored, and Josefov’s Pařížská is a chic avenue lined with expensive shops.

The Royal Way: Intersecting the 4 towns—from the Cathedral of St Vitus to Charles Bridge, and subsequently onto the Powder Tower—is the Královská Cesta (Royal Way), the historical route of coronation marches. These days, this spine of Prague is blighted by cheap trinket stores and overcrowded by tourist groups. Only utilize it for orientation—try to circumvent it if you wish to experience the genuine Prague.

High Synagogue

November 25, 2015 High Synagogue, Jewish Quarter (Josefov), The Jewish Quarter 0

Attached to the Jewish town hall and housing the Jewish museum’s collection of silver, Torah pointers and ceremonial crowns is the High Synagogue. So named for its’ location on the second floor. The lower chamber houses a kosher restaurant. Mordecai Maisel founded the synagogue. The current building is a reconstruction …

Jewish Ceremonial Hall

November 25, 2015 Ceremonial Hall, Jewish Quarter (Josefov), The Jewish Quarter 0

The building of the former Ceremonial Hall and Mortuary situated at the Old Jewish Cemetery might at first sight look rather like a castle or Romanesque manor. It was built in a pseudo-Romanesque style in 1911-12 according to the design of a prominent architect, František Gerstel. Nowadays, this building holds …

Jewish Town Hall in Prague

November 24, 2015 Jewish Quarter (Josefov), Jewish Town Hall, The Jewish Quarter 0

The Jewish Town Hall is currently home to the Federation of Jewish Religious Communities in Bohemia and Moravia, and the Jewish Religious community in Prague. It was created out of the renovation of the original town hall of Maisel, a contemporary of Rabbi Löw and a man of inordinate wealth …

Klaus Synagogue

November 24, 2015 Jewish Quarter (Josefov), Klausen Synagogue, The Jewish Quarter 0

Dating back to the mid 13th century the Klaus Synagogue is the oldest synagogue in Central Europe and its gates are the oldest in Prague. The early Gothic style gives a great impression of how many of Prague’s buildings once looked. There are many legends about this building, one claims …

Pinkas Synagogue

November 24, 2015 Jewish Quarter (Josefov), Pinkas Synagogue, The Jewish Quarter 0

There is a story that Rabbi Pinkas had a dead monkey thrown through his window. However the pranksters did not know that the monkey had swallowed some gold coins belonging to its master who was a goldsmith – the monkey had been trying to imitate the master biting the coins …

Jewish Heritage in Prague

November 29, 2015 Jewish Quarter (Josefov) 0

The Jewish people of Prague have played a massive role in the way that the city has developed, more so than any other Jewish community in the continent. This is immediately evident when you look at the Old Town Hall, which was built in the early 1900s, and portrays a …

The Districts Of Prague

November 28, 2015 Prague Historical Quarters 0

Prague is split up into 22 different districts (10 major) and each of these is divided, again, loosely into neighbourhoods. Below is a brief description of every district, with plus and minus points about each of them: Prague One is a centrally located area, that includes Malá Strana (the Old …

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