| The Jewish Quarter (Josefov) in Prague is located between the Old Town Square and the Vltava River. While their is evidence for early 10th century settlement of the area, the torrid history of the former Jewish Ghetto began in the 13th century, when Jewish people were ordered to vacate their disparate homes and settle in this one part of town. Over the centuries, with Jews banned from living elsewhere in Prague, and with new arrivals expelled from Moravia, Germany, Austria and Spain joining them, ever more people crowded in to the quarter. To add to this, inhabitants of the ghetto had to endure structural changes enforced at the whim of the emperor or whichever ruler exercised control over them. The latest of these occurred in 1893-1913, when many buildings were flattened and the layout of the streets was remodelled. Fortunately, most of the significant historical buildings were saved from destruction, and they remain a testimony to the history of the Jewish people in Prague. They form the best preserved complex of historical Jewish monuments in Europe. The Jewish Quarter has: six synagogues, including the Spanish Synagogue, Maisel Synagogue and the Old-New Synagogue; the Jewish Ceremonial Hall; and the remarkable Old Jewish Cemetery. The area even survived Nazi occupation in the 20th century; Adolf Hitler intended to preserve the Jewish Quarter in Prague as a “Museum of an Extinct Race”. To this end, the Nazis plundered Jewish artefacts from other occupied territories and brought them to the Jewish Quarter in Prague to form part of the museum.
The Jewish Quarter is also the birthplace of the celebrated Jewish novelist Franz Kafka, who is commemorated with a statue on Dusni street.
HOW TO VISIT THE JEWISH QUARTER
Today, the most significant historical monuments in the
Jewish Quarter are under the control of the Jewish Museum in Prague and the Old-New Synagogue. Together these are called the Jewish Town monuments.
There is no charge to visit the Jewish Quarter and wander around. But to enter the historical monuments requires a Jewish Town Ticket.
You can buy a self-guided Jewish Town Ticket on the day of your visit from the Jewish Museum In Prague Information Centre at Maiselova 15. Alternatively, we highly recommend the Jewish Quarter Tour, which is led by a certified guide of the Jewish Museum in Prague. The number of guides are limited and tours often sell out, so tickets must be booked in advance.
With such a turbulent history, and with so many wonderful traditions and legends attached to the area, it is difficult to overstate how much a guide can bring to your understanding of it all.
In addition to the Jewish Quarter Tour, the following Prague tours also include a visit to the Jewish Quarter in their itinerary:
Old Town & Jewish Quarter Tour
Prague Historical Centre Tour
Historical Centre & Castle Tour
Prague Explorer Tour + Boat Trip
Prague City & Castle Tour + Boat Trip.
TEREZIN CONCENTRATION CAMP
In World War II, thousands of Jewish people were deported from the Jewish Quarter to Terezin (Theresienstadt) Concentration Camp and Ghetto, located 60km from Prague. The Terezin Tour, which departs from Prague, continues the story of this dark episode in history. | 
