Jubilee Synagogue

Jubilee Synagogue
Czech: Jubilejní synagoga
Main façade of the synagogue, in 2014
Religion
Affiliation	Orthodox Judaism
Ecclesiastical or organisational status	Synagogue
Status	Active
Location
Location	Jeruzalémská 7, Nove Mesto district, Prague
Country	Czech Republic
Location of the synagogue in the Czech Republic
Geographic coordinates	50°05′05″N 14°25′55″E
Architecture
Architect(s)	Wilhelm Stiassny
Type	Synagogue architecture
Style	Moorish Revival Art Nouveau
General contractor	Alois Richte
Date established	1896 (as a congregation)
Completed	1906
Specifications
Direction of façade	West
Capacity	850 worshippers
Spire(s)	Two

The Jubilee Synagogue (Czech: Jubilejní synagoga), also known as the Jerusalem Synagogue (Czech: Jeruzalémská synagoga), is an Orthodox Jewish synagogue, located on Jerusalem Street in the Nove Mesto district of Prague, in the Czech Republic. It is the largest synagogue in Prague.

History

The synagogue was built in 1906, designed by Wilhelm Stiassny and built by Alois Richte, the synagogue was initially named in honor of the silver Jubilee of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria. The synagogue was built as a replacement for three synagogues (the Zigeiner, the Velkodvorská, and the New) destroyed between 1898 and 1906.

Although built as a Reform synagogue (with an organ and a choir), it is nowadays used by the more traditional (Modern Orthodox) members of the Prague Jewish community, aligning itself officially with Orthodox Judaism. Still, compared to the famous other active synagogue of Prague, the Old New Synagogue, the Jubilee Synagogue is far less stringent in many ways.

Design and history

The synagogue was designed in Moorish Revival form with Art Nouveau decoration, especially in the interior. It was lately renovated and serves religious purposes. Following the Czechoslovak declaration of independence in 1918, it was called the Jerusalem Synagogue as the name Jubilee Synagogue referred to the anniversary of the rule of Franz Joseph I in the defeated Austro-Hungarian monarchy.

The synagogue preserves inscribed plaques removed from the former Zigeuner Synagogue, demolished by the urban renewal campaign that was the cause of the building of the Jubilee synagogue.

The inscription over the entrance reads Hebrew: זה השער ליי צדיקים יבאו בו, lit. 'This is the gate to which the righteous will come'.

The façade and form of the synagogue are a hybridized blend of Moorish Revival and Art Nouveau, with horseshoe arches on the facade and on the interior columns supporting the women's galleries in a three-bay building. The Mudéjar red-and-white coursing of the stone facade is particularly striking. Inside, the Moorish elements are overlaid with brilliantly painted Art Nouveau patterning.

After a century of being open to the public as a house of worship, except for the period of Nazi German occupation when it was used to store confiscated Jewish property, on 1 April 2008 the Jubilee Synagogue began opening its doors on a regular basis to tourists and aficionados of historic architecture. The World Monuments Fund provided support between 1992 and 2010 to the restoration of the synagogue.

Gallery

• 
  The interior of the synagogue

See also

• History of the Jews in the Czech Republic
• 2006 Prague terror plot

External links

Media related to Jubilee Synagogue at Wikimedia Commons