Old Jewish Cemetery
Old Jewish Cemetery is one of the narrated stops on the self-guided Prague audio walking tour in Gingerguide. Plan about ~30 min here. Press play at the spot for its two to three minute story, or ask the AI guide anything about it.
- Type monument
- Suggested visit ~30 min
- Prague Prague guide
About Old Jewish Cemetery
Around twelve thousand tilted headstones crowd this walled plot, where the dead lie layered many deep; Rabbi Loew, the Maharal, rests here beneath the cemetery's grandest Renaissance tomb.
The Old Jewish Cemetery in Josefov was in use from the first half of the fifteenth century until 1787, when Emperor Joseph II's public-health decrees ended burials inside the built-up city. Confined to a small plot and bound by Jewish law not to disturb existing graves, the community buried its dead in layers, adding fresh earth over older graves until the ground lay ten to twelve deep in places. Around twelve thousand gravestones survive above a far larger number of burials, estimated at a hundred thousand.
The oldest legible stone marks the scholar and poet Avigdor Kara, dated 1439. The most visited grave is the Renaissance tomb of Rabbi Judah Loew, the Maharal, who died in 1609; a leading Talmudist and educator, he is popularly but wrongly credited in later folklore with creating the Golem. Visitors still leave folded paper wishes at his tomb.
Did you know? Because Jewish law forbids disturbing a grave, the crowded community buried its dead in layers, adding soil on top; in places the ground lies ten to twelve people deep beneath the tilting stones.
How long should you spend at Old Jewish Cemetery?
Plan about ~30 min at Old Jewish Cemetery. That is enough to take it in and hear its narrated story; stay longer if it grabs you. The tour is self-guided, so there is no rush.
Is Old Jewish Cemetery worth visiting?
Old Jewish Cemetery is one of the 35 sights the Gingerguide team researched and narrated in Prague, so it earns a place on a self-guided walk. Its story explains why it matters, and you can ask the AI guide anything the story leaves open.
Nearby stops in Prague
Sources and further reading
Where to check the facts about Old Jewish Cemetery and read more:
Day 1 of the Prague in 2 days itinerary →Day 2 of the Prague in 3 days itinerary →
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Hear the story of Old Jewish Cemetery
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