Spanish Synagogue: Josefov's Moorish Revival interior

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The Spanish Synagogue stands on the site of Prague's oldest synagogue — known as the Old School (Altschul) — demolished during the municipal "sanitation" of Josefov in the second half of the nineteenth century. The new building, erected in 1868 by Prague's Reform congregation, bears a paradoxical name: "Spanish" — though it makes no reference to Sephardic tradition or to the Jews expelled from Spain in 1492. The name refers solely to the architectural style of the Alhambra in Granada, which had become the model for a whole generation of European synagogues in the nineteenth century.

The architects Vojtech Ignatz Ullmann and Josef Niklas designed the building as a manifesto of the Reform community — a congregation that sought to modernise religious life and integrate with Czech intellectual culture. The interior of the main hall, covered by a barrel vault with Islamic arabesque ornament, gilding and glazed tiles, is among the richest examples of Moorish Revival decoration in Central Europe. There is no mechitza — the women's gallery, though present, was accessible directly from the nave from the outset. An organ on the western gallery accompanied the choir.

In the second half of the nineteenth century and the early twentieth, the Spanish Synagogue was the centre of Prague's Reform and Zionist movements — a meeting place for Jewish intellectuals whose circle included Max Brod and, tangentially, Franz Kafka, though direct connections between Kafka and the synagogue are not documented in sources. After the Anschluss of Austria and the establishment of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, the Germans closed the synagogue; from 1941 the building served as a warehouse for the Reichsvereinigung der Juden storing confiscated furniture and valuables from Jewish apartments. After the war the Jewish Museum used these collections as the foundation of its holdings.

After the war the synagogue passed to the Jewish Museum in Prague and, following thorough renovation completed in 1998, became one of its most important branches. The permanent exhibition is devoted to the history of the Jews of Bohemia and Moravia from the Enlightenment to the Holocaust. The main hall displays judaica from the museum's rich collection; the upper gallery presents photographs and documents from 1938 to 1945.

The Spanish Synagogue is one of the most complete examples of Moorish Revival synagogue decoration in Europe. The exterior, with triangular gablelets, horseshoe-arched windows and an Oriental finial above the portal, signals the character of the interior. The mass of the building is greater than the facade suggests — the synagogue is three-aisled with a broad main nave.

The interior is a full programme of Alhambra-inspired decoration: every surface is covered in geometric and floral arabesque ornament in gold, blue, green and terracotta. Stalactites and muqarnas adorn the pendentives and vault corners. The stained-glass windows of the apse, with Moorish motifs rather than figurative scenes, fill the space with coloured light. The gallery columns with horseshoe-arch capitals form loggias around the full perimeter of the nave. The Aron HaKodesh in the eastern apse is flanked by gilded columns with muqarnas patterns. It is arguably the finest Oriental synagogue interior in Central Europe.

The Spanish Synagogue is a museum — no services are held here. Head covering is not required. Photography is permitted without flash. Entry is through the Jewish Museum in Prague ticket offices — combination tickets for several Josefov synagogues are available, as are individual tickets.

The museum is open Sunday to Friday; closed on Shabbat and Jewish festivals. A visit to the permanent exhibition takes approximately forty-five minutes; temporary exhibitions may require an hour or more.

Zasady wizyty:

• • Nakrycie głowy mężczyzn: nie wymagane
• • Separacja płci: nie
• • Fotografia: dozwolona
• • Datek: opcjonalny

The Spanish Synagogue is at Vězeňská 1, a hundred metres from the Old-New Synagogue, in the heart of Josefov. The Mercedes V-Class arrives via Pařížská or Dušní Street. Parking: Paládium car park (300 m) or Kotva (400 m). Walking time from Old Town Square is five minutes.