Josefov

The Pinkas Synagogue is the second oldest surviving synagogue in Prague and one of the most affecting stops on the Jewish Museum in Prague circuit. Its origins date back to 1492, when a smaller prayer room was established beside a house known as U Erbů. The present building was commissioned in 1535 in the Late Gothic style by Aaron Meshullam Horowitz, a prominent member of the Prague Jewish community. The synagogue most likely took its name from his grandson, Rabbi Pinkas Horowitz. It served as a private family house of prayer, and a ritual bath (mikveh) was established in its vicinity.

The Maisel Synagogue was built between 1590 and 1592 at the initiative of Mordecai Maisel (1528–1601), primate of the Prague Jewish Town and one of the wealthiest inhabitants of Rudolphine Prague. Emperor Rudolf II granted him special permission to build it as a mark of recognition for his financial support of the Habsburg court. The synagogue was solemnly consecrated in 1592 on the festival of Simchat Torah.

The Old-New Synagogue is the oldest surviving synagogue in Central Europe and one of the oldest functioning synagogues in the world. It was built in the second half of the 13th century, most likely around 1270, and ranks among the finest examples of early Gothic architecture in Bohemia. It was constructed by stonemasons from the royal workshop who were working at the same time on the nearby Convent of St Agnes. For more than 750 years it has served as the main synagogue of the Prague Jewish community, and services are held there continuously to this day.

Josefov occupies one of the key locations in Dan Brown's novel The Secret of All Secrets (2025). Prague's Jewish mysticism, and above all the legend of the Golem, became one of Brown's most important sources of inspiration. The author himself explained that the Golem as a great protector served as the direct model for one of the novel's central characters, whose task is to protect the scientist Katherine Solomon, just as Rabbi Löw's clay Golem once protected the inhabitants of the Jewish Town.