Spanish Synagogue
Moorish arches inside a Prague courtyard — built in 1868 to look like Andalusia, not Bohemia.
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Completed in 1868 on the site of what was likely Prague's oldest synagogue, the building was designed by Vojtěch Ignác Ullmann with an imposing interior by Josef Niklas. During WWII, Nazi authorities stored confiscated furniture from Czech Jewish communities here. Now a Jewish Museum branch, it holds an exhibition of historic synagogue textiles collected from 1960 onward.
What to look for
- The Moorish Revival interior by Josef Niklas — the building takes its Spanish name from this style, which drew on the art of Arabic-period Spain
- The 1935 functionalistic annex by Karel Pecánek attached to the synagogue, which served as a community hospital before the war
- Jaroslav Róna's modern Franz Kafka statue in the small park between the synagogue and the Church of the Holy Spirit
Entry is managed by the Jewish Museum in Prague, which administers this site alongside the city's other Jewish heritage buildings nearby.
Spanish Synagogue is one of 36 sights worth the detour in Prague, all bundled offline in Voyage GO — download the Prague pack and it sits on your map with no signal, filling your travel passport the moment you walk past.
More to see in Prague
- Prague CastleThe Guinness-record largest ancient castle on Earth — and the Czech president still works inside it.
- Charles BridgeCzech legend holds that Charles IV chose his construction start time — 5:31am on 9 July 1357 — because the digits form a palindrome he believed would imbue the bridge with additional strength.
- St. Vitus CathedralOne theory holds that the founding duke may have chosen St. Vitus partly because his name echoes a Slavic sun god — making conversion easier for a populace already devoted to the solar deity Svantevit. Christian and pagan communities shared this hilltop until at least the 11th century.
- Dancing HouseTwo interlocked towers shaped like mid-dance partners, built on a Vltava riverfront plot that sat bombed-out and derelict for decades.
- Prague Astronomical ClockEvery hour, a skeleton marks the time — on a clock mechanism that has been running since 1410.
- National Museum in PragueThe building that closes off Wenceslas Square has anchored Czech protests, rallies, and public life since 1891.