Maisel Synagogue after the Last Reconstruction

Maisel Synagogue ( cs, Maiselova synagoga) is one of the historical monuments of the former

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

Jewish quarter. It was built at the end of the 16th century which is considered to be the golden age of the ghetto. Since then its appearance has changed several times, its actual style is

neo-gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

. Nowadays the

synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...

belongs to the Jewish Community of Prague and is administered by the

Jewish Museum in Prague The Jewish Museum in Prague (Czech: Židovské muzeum v Praze) is a museum of Jewish heritage in the Czech Republic and one of the most visited museums in Prague. Its collection of Judaica is one of the largest in the world, about 40,000 objects ...

as a part of its expositions.

History

The origin and first appearance of the synagogue

The construction of the synagogue was initiated by

Mordechai Maisel Mordecai Marcus Meisel ( cs, Miška Marek Majzel; 1528, Prague – 13 March 1601, Prague) was a philanthropist and communal leader in Prague. Biography Born to the Meisel family. In 1542 and 1561 his family, with the other Jewish inhabitants, w ...

. First, in 1590, this renowned businessman and benefactor of the ghetto gained the building site. One year later he obtained from the emperor

Rudolf II Rudolf II (18 July 1552 – 20 January 1612) was Holy Roman Emperor (1576–1612), King of Hungary and Kingdom of Croatia (Habsburg), Croatia (as Rudolf I, 1572–1608), King of Bohemia (1575–1608/1611) and Archduke of Austria (1576–160 ...

, the current sovereign of the country, a privilege to build his own

Mordecai Maisel Mordecai Marcus Meisel ( cs, Miška Marek Majzel; 1528, Prague – 13 March 1601, Prague) was a philanthropist and communal leader in Prague. Biography Born to the Meisel family. In 1542 and 1561 his family, with the other Jewish inhabitants, ...

had an important position at Rudolf's court and that probably helped him to gain this favour. The

architectural plan In architecture and building engineering, a floor plan is a technical drawing to scale, showing a view from above, of the relationships between rooms, spaces, traffic patterns, and other physical features at one level of a structure. Dimensio ...

for Maisel synagogue, designed by Judah Coref de Herz, was realized by Josef Wahl and in 1592, on

Simchat Torah Simchat Torah or Simhat Torah (, lit., "Rejoicing with/of the Torah", Ashkenazi: ''Simchas Torah'') is a Jewish holiday that celebrates and marks the conclusion of the annual cycle of public Torah readings, and the beginning of a new cycle. Simch ...

, the

was

consecrated Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...

. For the next century it became the largest and most impressive building in the

ghetto A ghetto, often called ''the'' ghetto, is a part of a city in which members of a minority group live, especially as a result of political, social, legal, environmental or economic pressure. Ghettos are often known for being more impoverished t ...

, also thanks to its abundant equipment. Maisel bequeathed the

to the Prague Jewish community, yet after his death in 1601 all his possession, including the

, was

confiscated Confiscation (from the Latin ''confiscatio'' "to consign to the ''fiscus'', i.e. transfer to the treasury") is a legal form of seizure by a government or other public authority. The word is also used, popularly, of spoliation under legal forms, ...

(in spite of another imperial privilege, allowing Maisel to write a testament). Maisel's last will was therefore fulfilled entirely only after a number of trials, several decades later.

Later changes

In 1689 the

was severely damaged by fire that affected the whole

. It was reconstructed in a hurry and lost one third of its length. Then it was changed in the 19th century (in 1862–1864 according to architectural plan of J. W. Wertmüller) and again at the turn of the 20th century when all the Jewish Quarter went through a big

urban renewal Urban renewal (also called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address urban decay in cities. Urban renewal involves the clearing out of blighte ...

. Architect Alfred Grotte reconstructed the

Neo-Gothic style Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

Modern history

During the Nazi occupation of the Czech lands, properties of the Czech

Jewish communities Jewish ethnic divisions refer to many distinctive communities within the world's ethnically Jewish population. Although considered a self-identifying ethnicity, there are distinct ethnic subdivisions among Jews, most of which are primarily the ...

were stored in Maisel Synagogue. After the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

the synagogue became a depository of

. During the sixties it was restored and between 1965 and 1988 an exposition of

silver Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...

Judaica was located there. Then the

was closed because of deplorable technical conditions, which could not be improved because of lack of financial means.

Velvet revolution The Velvet Revolution ( cs, Sametová revoluce) or Gentle Revolution ( sk, Nežná revolúcia) was a non-violent transition of power in what was then Czechoslovakia, occurring from 17 November to 28 November 1989. Popular demonstrations agains ...

made necessary reconstruction possible and the

was then opened for visitors in 1996, showing an exposition of Jewish history in the Czech lands from the beginning (9th century) till the

age of Enlightenment The Age of Enlightenment or the Enlightenment; german: Aufklärung, "Enlightenment"; it, L'Illuminismo, "Enlightenment"; pl, Oświecenie, "Enlightenment"; pt, Iluminismo, "Enlightenment"; es, La Ilustración, "Enlightenment" was an intel ...

which meant a turning point in Jewish

social status Social status is the level of social value a person is considered to possess. More specifically, it refers to the relative level of respect, honour, assumed competence, and deference accorded to people, groups, and organizations in a society. Stat ...

. After the recent restoration of Maisel Synagogue, this exposition has been updated (modern and interactive elements added), its topic, however, has remained the same.

Recent reconstruction

The recent reconstruction took place between April 2014 and June 2015. In opposite to previous unified white colour of outside and inside, the decorative elements were accentuated so the

looks the same as at the beginning of the 20th century. Thanks to the reconstruction the

also provides more comfort to its visitors including barrier-free entrance. It will be opened for cultural events as well (

concert A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide variety a ...

s, author reading, one-man theatre etc.).

Notes

External links

* {{Authority control Synagogues in Prague Josefov (Prague) Synagogues preserved as museums History museums in the Czech Republic Jewish museums in the Czech Republic Museums in Prague Religious buildings and structures completed in 1592 16th-century synagogues 16th-century establishments in Bohemia