Architecture
in Prague
:
Josefov
 
The Old Jewish Cemetery in Josefov, the Jewish Quarter, was created in the 15th
century when Jews were forbidden to bury their dead outside their own district.
Space was scarce, so bodies were buried on top of each other in an estimated
12 layers. Over the centuries, lopsided tombstones formed unruly, poetic groupings.
The
surrealist author Franz Kafka enjoyed moments of quiet reflection in the old
cemetery. However, his own grave lies across town in the New Jewish Cemetery.
That burial ground is half empty because the generation it was built for was
transported to Nazi death camps.
Prague
Architecture Index
Text
and photos copyright © Jackie Craven
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