This postcard dates back to 1902 and depicts various Jewish sites in the Jewish ghetto of Prague, known as Josefov. The postcard showcases the Altneuschul (described here in Czech as the Old Synagogue), the Jewish town hall, and the Old Jewish Cemetery and provides a view of the Jewish butcher’s shop and post office. A Magen David (Star of David) links the illustrations of the butcher’s shop and the post office. The postcard’s background consists of flowers and greenery. Each site is labelled in blue, and there is black writing in Czech on the lower right side, probably written by the person who sent the postcard.
The various sites depicted were either destroyed or preserved as part of the Prague municipality’s huge “Sanitization” program from 1893 to1913. The Sanitization was an initiative to destroy most of the old, dirty, and cramped Jewish ghetto and then rebuild the area.
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Altneuschul - The Altneuschul is featured in the middle picture and is one of the six synagogues that were preserved during Sanitization in addition to the Jewish ceremonial hall, the Jewish town hall, and the Jewish cemetery. Built in 1270, the Altneuschul is the oldest functioning synagogue in Europe. It is famous for its gothic architecture and ancient legends, such as the legend of the Golem brought to life by the Maharal of Prague (Rabbi Judah Loew). Close to the Altneuschul is the Jewish town hall, whose most prominent feature is its Hebrew clock. The hours on the clock are marked with Hebrew letters, and it runs anticlockwise reflecting the right to left direction of Hebrew script.
The postcard also includes pictures of the Jewish butcher’s shop and post office. These sites were destroyed at the turn of the century during the Sanitization of Josefov. Linking these two images is the Magen David, which has a long history in Prague, having been first printed on the front of a prayer book in 1512. It is also the central element of a flag (although believed to have been sewn on later) given to the Jews of Prague by King Charles IV in 1354. Another Prague personality, the rabbi and chronicler David Gans, had the Magen David etched onto his grave when he died in 1613, and Mordechai Maisel, a Jewish mayor of Prague and philanthropist, hung the star in his synagogue in 1598. The widespread use of the Magen David is believed to have had a mystical meaning and reflects the mystical charm of the Jewish ghetto of Prague. Overall it was seen by Prague Jewry as a seal of protection and Jewish pride.
The famous Old Jewish Cemetery depicted in the postcard was opened in 1439 with the burial of the rabbi, Kabbalist, and poet, Avigdor Kara. Over the next 400 years, 200,000 Jews were buried in this cemetery. Due to lack of space, bodies were buried in layers, as many as twelve layers deep. The last burial in the cemetery was in 1787. Many famous people were buried here, including the Maharal of Prague.
Jewish Community in Prague - Jews first settled in Prague as early as the tenth century, and the Jewish community was fully established by the end of the eleventh century. After the persecutions of 1142, the Jews were forced to build and live in a Jewish ghetto situated on the right bank of the Vltava River close to the old town square. During the sixteenth century, the Jewish population almost doubled due to huge numbers of Jewish immigrants from surrounding European countries. The expansion of the population caused the ghetto to be very crowded and unhygienic. By the early eighteenth century, Jews made up a quarter of Prague’s total population. They were gradually emancipated throughout the nineteenth century, especially during the reign of Joseph II who was a strong supporter of religious tolerance. Jews were allowed to leave the ghetto in 1852, and at the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century, the extensive ”Sanitization” renovation took place to upgrade Josefov, the Jewish quarter. At the outbreak of World War II, there were 92,000 Jews in Prague comprising 20 percent of Prague’s population and making it one of the biggest Jewish communities in Europe. Two-thirds of this community were killed in the Holocaust.
The sites depicted in the postcard still exist today, serving as a testament to Prague’s long and intricate Jewish history.
