The Spanish Synagogue ( he, בית הכנסת הספרדי, cs, Španělská synagoga, german: link=no, die Spanische Synagoge) is the newest

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 ...

in the area of the so-called Jewish Town, yet paradoxically, it was built at the place of the presumably oldest synagogue, Old School (also known as Altshul). The synagogue is built in Moorish Revival Style. Only a little park with a modern statue of famous Prague writer Franz Kafka (by

Jaroslav Róna Jaroslav Róna (born 27 April 1957 in Prague-Letná) is a Czech-Jewish sculptor, painter, actor, educator, and writer. Works *Franz Kafka - bronze statue on Dušní Street ( Holy Spirit Street), historic Jewish Quarter, Prague; inspired by the ...

) lies between it and the church of Holy Spirit. Today, the Spanish Synagogue 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 ...

History

The Spanish Synagogue is not the first synagogue at the site. Before it there stood probably the oldest synagogue in Prague Jewish Town, ''Altschule''. In the second half of 19th century, the capacity of the ''Altschule'' 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, 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 Vojtěch Ignác Ullmann (23 April 1822 in Prague – 17 September 1897 in Příbram) was a Czech architect working in Revivalism architecture, particularly Renaissance Revival architecture. Life Ullmann studied architecture at the Academy of Fin ...

and

Josef Niklas Josef Niklas (11 March 1817, Volyně – 10 October 1877, Prague) was a Czechs, Czech architect. He one of the most important Czech architects in the 19th century. In 1873–1874 he was a rector of the Czech Technical University in Prague. Ex ...

(an imposing interior decoration). In 1935, a functionalistic building, designed by

Karel Pecánek Karel may refer to: People * Karel (given name) * Karel (surname) * Charles Karel Bouley, talk radio personality known on air as Karel * Christiaan Karel Appel, Dutch painter Business * Karel Electronics, a Turkish electronics manufacturer * Gr ...

, 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 Vestibule or Vestibulum can have the following meanings, each primarily based upon a common origin, from early 17th century French, derived from Latin ''vestibulum, -i n.'' "entrance court". Anatomy In general, vestibule is a small space or cavity ...

and a winter oratory in it. Since 1935, the appearance of the synagogue has remained essentially unchanged. During the Second World War,

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, o ...

properties of Czech Jewish Communities were stored in 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, the synagogue was re-opened with a ceremony in 1998.

Appearance

The synagogue itself is two

storey A storey (British English) or story (American English) is any level part of a building with a floor that could be used by people (for living, work, storage, recreation, etc.). Plurals for the word are ''storeys'' (UK) and ''stories'' (US). T ...

s high. Its

ground 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. Dimensi ...

is square. The main hall with a dome is surrounded by three built-in balconies. At the south balcony, there is an

organ Organ may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a part of an organism Musical instruments * Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone ** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument ** Hammond ...

. In the eastern wall there is a great round

stained glass Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...

window with a central ornament of Magen David (

hexagram , can be seen as a compound composed of an upwards (blue here) and downwards (pink) facing equilateral triangle, with their intersection as a regular hexagon (in green). A hexagram ( Greek language, Greek) or sexagram (Latin) is a six-pointed ...

), installed in 1882–1883. Underneath it there is a monumental

aron ha-kodesh A Torah ark (also known as the ''Heikhal'', or the ''Aron Kodesh'') refers to an ornamental chamber in the synagogue that houses the Sefer Torah, Torah scrolls. History The ark, also known as the ''ark of law'', or in Hebrew the ''Aron Kodesh'' ...

. The most impressive decorative element in the synagogue is a

gilded Gilding is a decorative technique for applying a very thin coating of gold over solid surfaces such as metal (most common), wood, porcelain, or stone. A gilded object is also described as "gilt". Where metal is gilded, the metal below was tradi ...

and multi-colored parquet arabesque. Its designers, Antonín Baum and

Bedřich Münzberger Bedřich or Bedrich may refer to: *Bedrich Benes (born 1967), computer scientist and a researcher in Computer Graphics * Bedřich Bloudek, Czech military leader who participated in the Slovak Uprising in 1848 * Bedřich Bridel (1619–1680), Czech ...

, were inspired by

Arabic architecture Islamic architecture comprises the architectural styles of buildings associated with Islam. It encompasses both secular and religious styles from the early history of Islam to the present day. The Islamic world encompasses a wide geographic area ...

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 a church), not around the walls. The

is designed in the style of

mihrab Mihrab ( ar, محراب, ', pl. ') is a niche in the wall of a mosque that indicates the ''qibla'', the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca towards which Muslims should face when praying. The wall in which a ''mihrab'' appears is thus the "qibla w ...

, and has no curtain ( parochet) today.

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 oly Roman Emperor which started the 'Jewish emancipation' and the social inclusion of Jews into 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 WW.cantors.eu held the concert for their 11th Annual Convention in the Spanish Synagogue in front of 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 rthodox JewishCantor Naftali Herstik.

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

{{commons category, Spanish Synagogue in Prague
"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 Ashkenazi Jewish culture in the Czech Republic Ashkenazi synagogues Conservative Judaism in Europe Conservative synagogues Moorish Revival architecture in the Czech Republic Moorish Revival synagogues Synagogues completed in 1868 Synagogues in Prague Museums in Prague Synagogues preserved as museums Synagogue buildings with domes 1868 establishments in Austria-Hungary Josefov (Prague) Former synagogues in the Czech Republic