Prague (Part 1)

We roamed  throughout the ‘old’ city part of Prague. Narrow, cobble-stoned roads, lovely filigree on old stone buildings, geraniums at apartment windows. Our guide had two university degrees – one in Medievel History and another in Fine Arts. She was a wealth of information, extremely proud of her city, and shared so much information about the history and art, backed by her own personal stories and experiences, that our heads spun. So many buildings built in the 12^th and 13^th centuries – I was so overwhelmed by ‘old’, Canada feels like such a baby. One building that was particularly touching, the Alteneu Shul – the oldest active synagogue in Europe. It dates from, probably, around 1270. It was where the great Rabbi, Yehuda Loew (the Maharal) taught. It has hair-raising superstitions about it as well. It is reputed to be where Loew’s creation, the Golem of Prague, is hidden. The Golem was constructed from clay from the banks of Vitava river, created to defend the Prague Jewish ghetto from antisemitic attacks. The Golem’s name was Josef and he could make himself invisible and summon spirits from the dead. It is such a somber building I could well believe that it houses a ghoul.

Close by the synagogue is the Old Jewish Cemetery. It is a mounded hill, topped with leaning and toppling gravestones, small stones and pebbles marching along their arcs. It is where the Maharal is buried. It didn’t start as a hill but, as it was the only cemetery allowed the Jewish people, they simply over the centuries buried people on top of each other and thus the mound grew. I love old gravestones and the stories they tell. I wanted to go into the cemetery but you had to buy tickets and it was only open at certain times.  Well, maybe another time.