Jewish Museum in Prague
Encyclopedia
The Jewish Museum in Prague (Czech: Statní židovské museum) is a museum of Jewish heritage located in Prague
, Czech Republic
.
The Jewish Museum in Prague was founded in 1906 by historian Dr. Hugo Lieben and Dr. Augustin Stein, who later became head of the Prague Jewish Community. The goal was to preserve artifacts from the Prague synagogues demolished during the Urban renewal
of the old Jewish Quarter in the beginning of the 20th century. In 1942 the Nazis regime established the Central Jewish Museum, with the goal of commemorationg the heritage of an exterminated people by collecting notable objects of Jewish ceremonial art
. Artifacts were shipped to the museum from all the Jewish communities and synagogues of Bohemia and Moravia.
The museum reopened under the post-War Communist government, but began to flourish after the Czech lands were liberated from Communism.
Buildings in the Museum's collection in the Prague's Jewish Quarter
received significant damage, during the 2002 European floods
.
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
.
Urban renewal
Urban renewal is a program of land redevelopment in areas of moderate to high density urban land use. Renewal has had both successes and failures. Its modern incarnation began in the late 19th century in developed nations and experienced an intense phase in the late 1940s – under the rubric of...
of the old Jewish Quarter in the beginning of the 20th century. In 1942 the Nazis regime established the Central Jewish Museum, with the goal of commemorationg the heritage of an exterminated people by collecting notable objects of Jewish ceremonial art
Jewish ceremonial art
Jewish ceremonial art, also known as Judaica refers to an array of objects used by Jews for ritual purposes. Because enhancing a mitzvah by performing it with an especially beautiful object is considered a praiseworthy way of honoring God's commandments, Judaism has a long tradition of...
. Artifacts were shipped to the museum from all the Jewish communities and synagogues of Bohemia and Moravia.
The museum reopened under the post-War Communist government, but began to flourish after the Czech lands were liberated from Communism.
Buildings in the Museum's collection in the Prague's Jewish Quarter
Josefov
Josefov is a town quarter in Prague, Czech Republic, known as the Jewish quarter.Josefov may also refer to:* Fortress Josefov, a former fortress in the Hradec Králové Region of the Czech Republic...
received significant damage, during the 2002 European floods
2002 European floods
In August 2002 a 100-year flood caused by over a week of continuous heavy rains ravaged Europe, killing dozens, dispossessing thousands, and causing damage of billions of euros in the Czech Republic, Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, Romania and Croatia....
.
External links
- http://www.jewishmuseum.cz/aindex.htm
- The Jewish Community of Prague`s website
- The Old-New Synagogue website
Books
- The Jewish Museum of Prague: A Guide Through the Collections, Hana Volavková, Umělecká beseda, 1948
- Jewish Art Treasures from Prague: The State Jewish Museum in Prague and Its Collections : a Catalogue, Charles Reginald Dodwell, Whitworth Art Gallery, 1920
- The Precious Legacy: Judaic Treasures from the Czechoslovak State Collections, David Altschuler, Vivian Mann, Simon & Schuster 1983