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Monday, May 10, 2010

The Old Jewish Cemetery

One of the most fascinating stops in Prague was the Old Jewish Cemetery. Seems like a strange place to visit, but this is one very unique cemetery. The gravestones date from the year 1439 until 1787. During that time this small plot of land was the only area the Jews were allowed to bury their dead. As the years went on, the cemetery quickly reached its capacity. So without any more space, they started burying bodies on top of the other bodies. It is part of the Jewish belief that once a body is laid to rest it should never be moved, as it will disturb the soul. As you can see, the tombstones started stacking up just like the bodies, and the ground at the center of the cemetery is much higher than the perimeter. Over the years the tombstones have started to tilt and crack, but over 12,000 still remain standing in some shape or form. There’s no question, that wandering through this cemetery on a cold and dreary day, was a definitely one of our Prague highlights.



The Pinkas Synagogue is connected to the cemetery. It has recently been turned into a memorial for the 77,927 Czech Jews sent to the gas chambers. It's hard to tell in this photo, but the walls list each and every name of the victims along with birth dates and date of death.