Spanish Synagogue (Prague)
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Spanish Synagogue Španělská synagoga | |
---|---|
Religion | |
Affiliation | Conservative Judaism |
Rite | Ashkenazi |
Status | Museum |
Location | |
Location | Prague, Czech Republic |
Geographic coordinates | 50°05′25″N 14°25′15″E / 50.090278°N 14.420833°E |
Architecture | |
Architect(s) | Josef Niklas, Vojtěch Ignác Ullmann |
Style | Moorish Revival |
Completed | 1868 |
The Spanish Synagogue (Czech: Španělská synagoga, German: Spanische Synagoge, Hebrew: בית הכנסת הספרדי) is the newest synagogue in the area of the so-called Jewish Town; it was in fact built at the site of the presumably oldest synagogue, Old School (German: Altschul). The synagogue is built in Moorish Revival Style. Only a little park with a modern statue of Franz Kafka (by Jaroslav Róna) lies between it and the Church of the Holy Spirit. Today, the Spanish Synagogue is administered by the Jewish Museum in Prague.
History
The Spanish Synagogue 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 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,
In 1935, 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
Appearance
The synagogue itself is two stories high. Its
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
See also
- Spanish Synagogue, Venice
References
Literature
- Pařík, Arno, Dana Cabanová a Petr Kliment, Pražské synagogy = Prague Synagogues = Prager Synagogen, 2. vydání, Praha: Židovské muzeum v Praze, 2011, s. 87–97.
- Alina Heitlinger In the Shadows of the Holocaust and Communism:Czech and Slovak Jews Since 1945, Transaction Publishers, New Brunswick, New Jersey, 2006 s.181
External links
- "Spanish Synagogue", Jewish Museum, Prague
- "Spanish Synagogue", Prague tourist guide
- Ivan Kalmar. U. of Toronto. The Origin of the "Spanish Synagogue" of Prague, 1999, updated June 2006