Jewish Museum in Prague – Virtual Tour

The Jewish Museum in Prague is a museum of Jewish heritage in the Czech Republic. Its collection includes about 40,000 objects, 100,000 books, and a significant archive of Czech and Moravian Jewish community histories.

The Museum was founded in 1906 to document the history and customs of the Jewish people of the Czech lands. It also aimed to preserve artifacts from Prague synagogues.

When the Nazis took over Prague, the Museum became the Central Bureau for Jewish Emigration. The Jewish community stored the Museum’s collection so that it could be preserved. Around 80 000 Czech and Moravian Jews fell victim to the Second World War.

The Museum re-established its activity in 1945, and many priceless documents from the Ghetto Theresienstadt were rescued for the Museum.

Under the Communist regime, the Jewish Museum became state property, and its name was changed to the State Jewish Museum.

In 1994, in the wake of the 1989 Velvet Revolution, the buildings used by the Museum, as well as the Old Jewish Cemetery, were returned to the Jewish Community of Prague. The Museum’s collections were eventually restituted to a re-established Jewish Museum in Prague.

Jewish Silver Torah Shield

Highlights of the Jewish Museum in Prague

Stamp of the Greater Coat of Arms of Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor
Interrogation I by Friedl Dicker-Brandeisová
Portrait of Solomon Judah Loeb Rapoport (1790-1867) by Anton Machek
Synagogue artifacts such as Torah ark curtains, Torah finials, crowns, shields, pointers, and alms boxes
Paintings, Drawings, Prints, and Photographs
Historic Household objects such as textiles, spice boxes, and bowls