Klausen Synagogue (Prague)
The Klausen Synagogue is a secular synagogue in the former Jewish quarter of Josefstadt in Prague . It is right next to the old Jewish cemetery at U Starého hřbitova 3a.
history
On the edge of the Jewish cemetery, Mordechai Maisel had founded a number of Klausen , which contained two synagogues and a Talmud school of the famous Rabbi Löw . In 1689 the entire Jewish town burned down and with it the Klausen as well. In its place, at the instigation of the synagogue head Shalom Kohen, the Klausen synagogue was built in baroque style and completed in 1694. It was the largest synagogue in Prague. At around the same time, three more synagogues, the New Synagogue , the Gypsy Synagogue and the Großenhof Synagogue , were built, but they were all demolished during the renovation of the Jewish city at the end of the 19th century. Thus only the Klausen Synagogue gives an impression of the houses of worship built during the Baroque period.
The Klausen Synagogue was one of the two main synagogues of the Prague Jewish Community and also served the Prague Burial Brotherhood . Several important board members of the Prague community worked on her as rabbis, such as Eleasar Fleckeles , Samuel Kauder , Efraim Teweles and Baruch Jeitteles .
In 1883/84 the synagogue was renovated by the architect Bedřich Münzberger and extended by a yoke in the west, and provided with a wide women's gallery. The glass windows also date from this time, as does today's facade design.
During the Second World War , the interior of the Klausen Synagogue was destroyed and the house itself served as a storage room for the Jewish Central Museum , a collection of Jewish cult objects by the SS .
As early as 1946, survivors of the Shoah set up an exhibition on Jewish religious festivals and customs here. Renovations took place in 1960, 1979 to 1981 and most recently in 1995/96. In 1984 the exhibition was changed to show Hebrew manuscripts and old prints, and since 1997 the new exhibition on Jewish festivals and traditions.
Building description
The Klausen Synagogue is the largest synagogue in Prague. It consists of a spacious baroque hall with a barrel vault, into which four pairs of stitch caps cut. On the side facing the cemetery there are two rows of semicircular vaulted windows. The vault is richly decorated with early baroque stucco decoration, which consists of acanthus leaves, fruit garlands and ribbons. The walls are structured by pilasters, over whose cranked beams a protruding cornice runs. On the northern side there is an extension with a women's gallery.
The Torah shrine dates from 1696 and was built at the expense of Samuel Oppenheim from Vienna. It is in three parts and made with wood and artificial marble. Originally there was a large elongated bima in the center of the room , which was lined with benches along the walls. Today there are showcases of the museum with the corresponding exhibits. A baroque shell-shaped donation box can be seen in the anteroom.
literature
- Arno Pařík: Jewish Prague . Jewish Museum, Prague 2005 3rd edition
- Arno Pařík: Prague synagogues . Jewish Museum, Prague 2005
- Podiebrad, David D. Antiquities of Prague's Josefstadt, Israelite cemetery, old-new school and other synagogues. Prague: Podebrady, 1870
Web links
Old New Synagogue | High Synagogue | Jerusalem Synagogue | Klausen Synagogue | Maisel Synagogue | Pinkas Synagogue | Spanish synagogue
Coordinates: 50 ° 5 ′ 23.6 " N , 14 ° 25 ′ 2.1" E