Spanish synagogue

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The Spanish Synagogue

The Spanish Synagogue (Czech Španělská synagoga ) is a synagogue in the district of Josefstadt in Prague . It was built in the middle of the 19th century in the Moorish style and is located at Vězenská 1 street.

history

View of the Holy of Holies and the Bima

The Spanish Synagogue is the youngest place of worship in the area of ​​the former Jewish town of Prague. It stands in the place of the oldest no longer preserved synagogue in Prague, the old school . It belonged to a small area separated from the actual Jewish quarter. In 1389 the old school was destroyed in a pogrom against the Jews but rebuilt. It burned down again in 1516 and was rebuilt in 1603 and 1622. In 1693 the old school was closed on imperial orders, as the number of synagogues in Prague should be reduced. Through the efforts of the synagogue superior, Samuel Taussig, it reopened in 1703. 1745–49, when the Jews were expelled from Prague, it was again devastated and then renewed in 1750 at the expense of the primator Israel Frankl Spira . In 1754 eight synagogues burned down in Prague, including the Altschul. It was rebuilt.

In 1837 the old school became the first Reformed synagogue in Prague, in which synagogal music was also started. During this time, important preachers worked at the Altschul , especially Leopold Zunz and Michael Sachs . Saul Isak Kaempf was the rabbi from 1846 to 1868 . The Czech composer František Škroup , who was not himself a Jew, worked at the synagogue from 1836 to 1845 to promote and develop synagogue music.

The Association of Reformed Worship Services had the old school redesigned in a neo-Gothic style. But since these changes did not meet the increasing interest, the old school was demolished in 1867. The Spanish Synagogue, built on the model of the Vienna Leopoldstadt Temple , was already in use in 1868. The architect Vojtech Ignaz Ullmann provided the construction plans, the interior constructions came from Josef Niklas . In 1882/83, Antonin Baum and Bedřich Münzberger furnished the synagogue with rich ornamental decorations in the Moorish style . Because of this architectural style it was now called the Spanish Synagogue , and not, as one might assume, because it would have been a synagogue of Sephardic Jews .

In 1941, church services stopped here and the building served as a warehouse for items from expropriated Jewish property. Since 1955 it has been administered by the Jewish Museum , which from 1960–1982 showed an exhibition of synagogue textiles here. In 1994 it came back into the possession of a Jewish community - the conservative Bejt Praha Open Community, and was then extensively restored. A permanent exhibition on recent Jewish history in Bohemia and Moravia has been on view here since 1998. Concerts and Jewish festivals also take place in the Spanish synagogue.

Building description

The Spanish Synagogue consists of a central room, which is vaulted with a large dome . There are galleries on three sides. The walls and ceilings are richly painted and gilded with stucco arabesques and ornaments based on the example of the Spanish Alhambra . In the gallery there is an organ with the same ornamental decoration. The windows are glazed with painted panes.

renovation

The Spanish Synagogue has been closed to the public since June 1, 2019 and is currently being restored. It is scheduled to reopen in late autumn 2020.

literature

Web links

Official website of the Jewish Museum Prague.

Commons : Spanish Synagogue  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ site kosher prague
  2. ^ Jewish Museum in Prague - Spanish Synagogue. Retrieved April 18, 2020 .

Coordinates: 50 ° 5 ′ 25.3 ″  N , 14 ° 25 ′ 15 ″  E