The Old Jewish Cemetery in Prague — the Maharal and a thousand years of memory

Zaplanuj wizytę Heritage Journeys

The Starý židovský hřbitov in the Josefov quarter of Prague was founded in the first half of the fifteenth century. The oldest surviving matzevah belongs to Avigdor Kara, who died in 1439 — a Talmudic scholar, author of the celebrated elegy "Et Kol Hatlaa" on the Prague pogrom of 1389. The cemetery served the Prague Jewish community for more than three and a half centuries.

Throughout the Middle Ages and the early modern period Prague was one of the most important Jewish centres in Europe. Josefov — the Jewish quarter of Prague — existed from the twelfth century, ringed by the walls of the ghetto and possessing its own synagogues, town hall, Talmudic schools and self-governing institutions. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the so-called "golden age of the Prague community" under Habsburg rule, Prague was recognised as one of the three principal centres of Jewish Europe (alongside Salonica and Krakow).

The most distinguished burial at the cemetery is the grave of Rabbi Judah Loew ben Bezalel, known as the Maharal (Morenu ha-Rav Liva), Chief Rabbi of Prague (c. 1525–1609). The Maharal was one of the greatest Talmudists and kabbalists of the Jewish sixteenth century, author of philosophical works (Tiferet Yisrael, Netivot Olam, Gevurot Hashem) and of commentaries on the Torah and Talmud. His philosophical thought influenced Hasidism, Lurianic kabbalah and through them the whole of modern Jewish mysticism.

The legend of the Golem — an artificial man of clay that the Maharal is said to have created for the defence of the Jews of Prague against pogrom — grew up around his person only in the nineteenth century, and there is no trace of it in the Maharal’s own writings or those of his contemporaries. The myth of the Golem became one of the strongest symbols of Jewish culture in the twentieth century — from the tales of Peretz and Leivick to German Expressionist cinema.

Other notable burials are: Mordechai Maisel (1528–1601), court financier of Emperor Rudolf II, patron of Jewish Prague who founded among other things the Maisel Synagogue and renovated the Jewish Town Hall; David Gans (1541–1613), Jewish historian and astronomer, collaborator of Tycho Brahe and Johannes Kepler at the Prague observatory; Hendel Bassevi (d. 1654), the first Jewish noble of the Holy Roman Empire (ennobled by Emperor Ferdinand II in 1622).

The cemetery was officially closed to new burials in 1786, by decree of Emperor Joseph II — on grounds of hygiene typical of Austrian Enlightenment authority. A new Jewish cemetery was established on the city outskirts (at Olšanské hřbitovy, where Franz Kafka was later buried).

A characteristic feature of the Starý židovský hřbitov is its layered structure. Across three and a half centuries of confined use, when the community could enlarge the cemetery only to a very limited extent (the city authorities obstructed expansion), new burials were made in layers above older graves — by Jewish tradition a grave once set may not be disturbed, but new burials above it, separated by a layer of earth, were permitted. As a result the cemetery today holds an estimated 100,000 burials in twelve layers across an area of barely one hectare. The matzevot stand thickly packed, leaning and overlapping — the visual effect is unforgettable.

The German occupation of Bohemia (1939–1945) paradoxically favoured the preservation of the cemetery — the Germans planned to establish in Prague’s Josefov a "Museum of the Extinct Race" (Museum einer ausgestorbenen Rasse), which was to document Jewish culture after the Shoah. Under that plan, Judaica was carted to Prague from across occupied Europe, and the cemetery itself was left untouched. After the war those collections became the foundation of the Židovské muzeum v Praze, one of the largest Jewish museums in the world.

Today the cemetery is part of the Židovské muzeum and one of the most visited places in Prague — receiving millions of visitors each year.

The Old Cemetery of Prague is part of the Židovské muzeum v Praze and is accessed by combined ticket (cemetery and the four Josefov synagogues: Old-New, Klausen, Pinkas and Maisel, and the Robert Guttmann Gallery). Admission is charged (500 czech crowns in 2026, roughly EUR 20).

Men and boys from the age of thirteen are required to cover their heads — kippot are available at the ticket office. The cemetery is closed on Saturdays (Shabbat) — from sunset Friday until sunset Saturday — and on Jewish holidays. Open: Sunday to Friday, 09:00–18:00 (summer) and 09:00–16:30 (winter).

The tradition of placing stones is observed — thousands of stones lie at the grave of the Maharal, left by pilgrims. A small written petition (kvitl) may also be left — a custom connected with appeals for the kabbalist’s intercession.

Men who are kohanim traditionally do not enter the cemetery. They may, however, visit all four Josefov synagogues included in the combined ticket.

The cemetery is busy — Prague tourism is heavy, and the Starý hřbitov is among the city’s most famous sites. We recommend a morning visit (the first hour after opening) or a late afternoon. In July and August the cemetery is particularly crowded.

Photography is permitted. Flash is forbidden. Visitors do not step onto matzevot — given the dense layout this requires care.

Zasady wizyty:

• • Nakrycie głowy: wymagane (mężczyźni, chłopcy 13+)
• • Otwarcie: Sunday–Friday 09:00–18:00 (summer) / 09:00–16:30 (winter); closed Saturday (Shabbat) and Jewish holidays. Part of the Jewish Museum in Prague combined ticket
• • Tradycja kładzenia kamyków: tak — symbol pamięci
• • Fotografia: dozwolona z szacunkiem

For families seeking Prague forebears, the principal source is the Židovské muzeum v Praze, which holds the archive of the Prague Jewish community from the fifteenth to the twentieth centuries. A portion of the records are accessible online through JewishGen (Prague Project) and the Archive of the City of Prague (Archiv hlavního města Prahy).

For families of Czech-Jewish descent (from Prague and from smaller towns of Bohemia and Moravia) the holdings of the Czech Heritage Archive (Archiv Památeks Českých) and the Yad Vashem database (for victims of the Shoah — most Czech Jews were murdered at Theresienstadt, Auschwitz or other camps) are useful.

Very few families can hope to identify ancestors buried at the Old Cemetery — most burials from before 1786 are now either unidentifiable or lie deep in the layers beneath the visible matzevot. Most often families visit the cemetery in memory of figures of general history — the Maharal, Maisel, Gans — and pursue individual searches at the newer Jewish cemeteries of Prague.

The Židovské muzeum offers genealogical consultations — we help arrange a meeting in advance of your visit.

The Old Jewish Cemetery lies in Prague’s Josefov — the historic Jewish quarter, in the very centre of Prague, a few hundred metres from the Charles Bridge and Staroměstské náměstí. The Mercedes V-Class draws up at Široká or Maiselova street — Josefov is partly pedestrianised. From most central hotels (Four Seasons, Mandarin Oriental, InterContinental, U Páva) the walk is 5 to 10 minutes.

Prague lies about 540 km from Krakow (6.5 hours via the D1) and 690 km from Warsaw (8 hours). For guests combining Prague with Polish sites of Jewish heritage we offer cross-border Mercedes V-Class routes Prague–Krakow or Prague–Wrocław.

A standard visit to the Old Cemetery and the four Josefov synagogues takes half a day (3–4 hours). We recommend a morning after opening (09:00) or late afternoon (after 15:00) — when footfall is lower. Hotel pickup and return and coordination of the Židovské muzeum ticket are included.