The Jewish in Prague community was vibrant during the medieval and early modern periods. The Altneuschul was one of the locations where this community flourished.

Community Center

The flag placed on the bimah was gifted to the Jewish community by Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV in 1357. This flag signifies the recognition of Prague’s Jewish population by the empire.¹ The Star of David and a pointed hat are embroidered onto the flag. The hat represents the type of garment required to be worn by Jewish men to distinguish them from the Christian population. The origins of using the Star of David as a Jewish symbol are unclear (until the 20th century), and it is a symbol seen in both Christian and Jewish spaces. The location of the flag is important to note, as the Altneuschul was the selected synagogue of where it would be kept.

Jewish communities throughout Europe during the medieval and early modern periods were allowed to govern their populations semi-autocratically, such as taxing members of the community. A Chief Rabbi would preside as both a religious and secular leader over their jurisdiction. During this period, Prague was under a separate jurisdiction from the rest of Bohemia due to the city’s vast population.²

Legends

Many stories are told about the Altneuschul. Simply, the space is made up of “as many stories as stones.” These tales include legends such as the stone used in its construction was from Solomon’s Temple and the space having supernatural protective forces.³

One legend which comes the Altneuschul is the clay figure, Golem. Rabbi Loew was the Chief Rabbi of Prague during the 17th century and performed his services at the Altneuschul. He is accredited to making the clay figure before having to destroy him, with pieces said to have been left in the basement of the Altneuschul.⁴ Various expeditions have been made to find Golem, as recent as 2014, but it has yet to be found…⁵

Art

Artistic depictions of the Altneuschul portray the space as multifunctional, a space for socialization and religious studies. Namely, Roelandt Savery’s 1604 drawing Two Jews Praying in the Altneuschul (?), and his 1607 drawing, Two Scholars both provide insight into how the synagogue was used. Though it is not definitive that the Altneuschul is the setting of these drawings, it is likely due to Savery and Rabbi Loew’s connections to the courts in Prague and the architectural features appearing similar to the space within his series.⁶

Etymology

Altneuschul is the name used in academia to refer to the building. In English, the name translates to Old-New. The Czech attribution is Staronová and is of Hebrew origins. The name Altneuschul is German and can be broken down into alt (old), neu (new), and schul (school). The space received this name because the Altneuschul was built after the Altschul but was older than the other synagogues built after its construction, hence the name old-new.⁷ The school component of the term refers to the synagogue as a place of teaching and learning. Additionally, others have interpreted the name to mean the use of the old stones (from the Temple) onto a new structure.⁸

Notes

1. Joaneath Spicer, “The Star of David and Jewish Culture in Prague around 1600, Reflected in Drawings of Roelandt Savery and Paulus van Vianen,” The Journal of the Walters Art Gallery, Vol. 54 (1996): 211.
2. Verena Kasper-Marienberg and Joshua Teplitsky “The Jews of Bohemian Lands in the Early Modern Times” in Prague and Beyond: Jews in the Bohemian Lands, ed. Kateřina Čapková and Hillel J. Kieval, (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2021), 22.
3. Ena G. Heller, “Western Ashkenazi Synagogues in Medieval and Early Modern Europe,” in Jewish Religious Architecture: From Biblical Israel to Modern Judaism, edited by Steven Fine, (Boston: Brill, 2020), 174.
4. Hillel J Kieval, “Pursuing the Golem of Prague: Jewish Culture and the Invention of a Tradition,” Modern Judaism 17, no. 1 (1997): 1–2.
5. http://thepartialview.blogspot.com/2014/08/pictures-inside-atic-of-altneu-shul-in.html?m=1
6. Spicer, “The Star of David and Jewish Culture in Prague around 1600, Reflected in Drawings of Roelandt Savery and Paulus van Vianen,” 204-206.
7. Ena G. Heller, “Western Ashkenazi Synagogues in Medieval and Early Modern Europe,” in Jewish Religious Architecture: From Biblical Israel to Modern Judaism, edited by Steven Fine, (Boston: Brill, 2020), 173.
8. Arno Parík et al. Prazske synagogy: Prague Synagogues: Prager Synagogen. Prague: Zidovske Muzeum, 2000.

Citations for Images in the “Art” Section:

1. Savery, Roelandt. “Two Jews Praying in the Altneuschul (?)”, 1604. Sketch (Städelsches Kunstinstitut, Frankfurt-am-main, Germany). In “The Star of David and Jewish Culture in Prague around 1600, Reflected in Drawings of Roelandt Savery and Paulus van Vianen,” in The Journal of the Walters Art Gallery, Vol. 54 (1996): 204.
2. Savery, Roelandt. “Two Scholars”, 1607. Sketch (Städelsches Kunstinstitut, Frankfurt-am-main, Germany). In “The Star of David and Jewish Culture in Prague around 1600, Reflected in Drawings of Roelandt Savery and Paulus van Vianen,” in The Journal of the Walters Art Gallery, Vol. 54 (1996): 205.