When I was planning to visit Prague, I mostly intended to wander and take in the beauty of the city. But there were a few sights that I knew that I had to see and put my “tourist” budget towards it. And the Spanish Synagogue was one of those.
The Spanish Synagogue is the newest synagogue in Prague’s Jewish Quarter. It was built in the 1860s on top of the site of the oldest synagogue in Prague. It was built in Moorish Revival style, influenced by the Alhambra, and it was one of the most breath-taking spaces that I’ve ever been in.
When you pay for admission to the Spanish Synagogue, it includes one of two different packages that grants you entrance into the other Jewish Museum in Prague sites. I bought the Jewish Museum in Prague ticket, which was the cheaper of the two options. It cost 330 Czech crowns, which is just over £11. Besides the Spanish Synagogue the ticket included the Maisel Synagogue, Pinkas Synagogue , Old Jewish Cemetery, Klausen Synagogue, Ceremonial Hall, and temporary exhibitions in the Robert Guttmann Gallery.
If you only have time to visit one other site besides the Spanish Synagogue, I recommend the Pinkas Synagogue. The permanent exhibit in the Pinkas Synagogue is the Children’s Drawings from the Terezín ghetto, and it’s a monument to an absolutely heart-breaking and incredible story. Austrian artist Friedl Dicker-Brandeis taught art classes in Terezín after they were deported there. (Terezín was used as a “model” ghetto). She taught and organised secret art therapy classes with the children in the ghetto, having them draw what they were feeling at the moment, life in the ghetto and memories of before their deportation. In 1944, Friedl’s husband was scheduled to be transported to Auschwitz and she volunteered to go with him. Before she left, she buried suitcases filled with the children’s drawings. Friedl Dicker-Brandeis was murdered in Auschwitz-Birkenau a month later. Her husband survived. After the war, he returned to Terezín and dug up the hidden art. Most of the children who drew the pictures were also murdered in Auschwitz-Birkenau. Their art is permanently on display in the Pinkas.
I haven’t taken any photographs of that exhibit because it felt wrong to, so I strongly urge everyone to visit to see them for themselves. It can sometimes be a struggle to witness such a brutal reminder of violent history but the children’s drawings are one of the most moving things I’ve ever seen.
All the Jewish Museum services in Prague are closed on Saturdays for the Sabbath so I had set my tour of the synagogue aside for Sunday morning.
It was extremely busy, so if you’re not good with crowds, apparently it’s less busy later in the day. Staff at the museum sites said that post 2pm tends to be the quietest time to visit.
The Spanish Synagogue is located at Vězeňská 1, 110 00 Staré Město.
Have you visited the Spanish Synagogue?
If you liked this, you might enjoy my other posts on Prague:
Planning a 48 Hour City Break in Prague
10 Things to do in Prague
A Vegan Guide to Prague
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