From the Old Town Square it is a short distance through the Jewish Quarter to the ticket office of the Jewish Museum of Prague. We are a bit dehydrated and are feeling slightly hungry so we are happy there is also a cafe inside. It is time to get some water, coffee and even some sweets and enjoy the air conditioning before starting on our exploration of the many sites included in our combo ticket.
The first site is the Maisel Synagogue and we just have to find it. Luckily we have Google Maps as otherwise it would have been quite difficult given the samey (but beautiful) houses in the Jewish Quarter.
In fact it isn’t that far away from the ticket office and soon we are inside. We are not sure what to expect but it looks like a typical synagogue, as far as we can see, that was transformed into a museum of Jewish history in Prague.
It is not a large museum but it is quite a popular one with both tours and individual tourists. There is a second floor to the synagogue which cannot be visited, however we can still see the menorah exhibit from the ground floor.
The exhibit is quite interesting with its focus on the Jewish community in Prague and how it evolved during the years. It also has many items used by Jews during religious ceremonies that we are curious to learn about.
It is also interesting to see how the fortunes of the Jew community have waxed and waned during the decades depending on the rulers and general population sensibilities.
As it befits an exhibit focused on Jews there are also a few Torahs on display which are quite interesting. We also like the history of a jewelry item found between the pavement stones and discovered only centuries later during renovation. And then we are done and it is time to move to a different area which has a lot more for us to discover, especially the Old Jewish Cemetery.
