Exploring Old Town and the Jewish Quarter

Old-New Synagogue built in 1270

We really wanted to explore the Jewish quarter in Prague as we had read some interesting things about that area.  We started with the Pinkas Synagogue which had the names of the 80,000 Czech Jewish men, women and children who were killed by the Nazi's during the Holocaust listed on its walls.


The Pinkas Synagogue also houses the Terezin Children's Art Exhibit, a display of art created by children while living in the Ghetto.  We were so moved by their pieces and the teacher who worked with these children to ensure they had a focus and education, as much as possible given their horific conditions.  She taught them art techniques and had them draw things from their life before the Ghetto and their dream after life.  Two suitcases of drawings remained after the war and and the artwork is now on display in this Synagogue.

Old Jewish Cemetary with Pinkas Synagogue in background

Next we visited the Old-New Synagogue that was build in the 1200's. It's one of the oldest Synagogues still standing in Europe.  Fascinating place!  We learned that through floods, disease, and war the services here have never stopped.  Also, this synagogue houses some of the original scrolls of the Torah.

The Maisel Synagogue and the Spanish Synagogues are also in this area.  The Spanish Synagogue is newer, but is very beautiful.  It is very ornately painted inside and has huge stained glass panels.

Spanish Synagogue

The Jewish Quarter was a lot to take in so we opted for something lighter in the afternoon.  We went back to Old Town Square where we had a quick bite to eat.  We decided to share a cheese plate as we were both starving.  Sarah, the more adventurous eater, decided to dig right into the cheese we didn't recognize. Big mistake! It turned out to be butter for our toast.







Next on our list was visiting the Old Town Hall and the Astronomical Clock.  We kept getting into what we thought were long lines of people, but as soon as we tried to find the end, the crowd dispersed like it was all just a mirage.  It turns out that there are huge tour groups all over Prague and as quickly as they appear they move onto the next sight. We finally found the place to buy tickets to the top of the clock tower and were thrilled that there was no line.

Doorways along the way

But that didn't last long -- that was just the line to buy the ticket.  We were directed several doors down, through the hallway, up the stairs, "over the river and through the woods" to another ENORMOUS line.  Well, we thought this must just be another tourist group so we walked past them, thinking we had learned our lesson about waiting for no reason, but it turned out that was the actual line.

Beautiful mosaics

So we waited in a very slow line up 2 flights of stairs to enter the elevator/stairway to the top.  We couldn't figure out why so many people were coming down, but the line wasn't moving!  Then we realized, the elevator was bringing people up to the top of the line and they were conveniently moving right up.  Turns out we aren't the only ones who haven't mastered standing in line in Prague.







Eventually, we arrived at the top and it was worth every second.  No words, see the photos below: