Pinkas Synagogue, Prague

Built in 1535 next to the Jewish Cemetery, Pinkas Synagogue was commissioned by Aaron Mesullam Horowitz as a family place of worship. The synagogue was named after Aaron’s grandson, Rabbi Pinkas Horowitz. It has a reticulated vault and the southern tract, and a gallery for women added in the 17th century. During an archaeological survey that preceded reconstruction of the synagogue after the water damage in the late 1960s, vaulted spaces, a ritual bath and an ancient well were discovered under the basement.

Since the end of World War II the synagogue has served as the Memorial for Jewish Victims of Bohemia and Moravia, commemorating over 80,000 with the names inscribed on the walls. The memorial was designed and constructed by Vaclav Bostik and Jiri John between 1954 and 1959 featuring the names, dates of birth and death of the Jews deported to the concentration camps.

On the walls within the main nave there are names of the victims who lived in Prague, while the adjoining walls bear the names of those who lived in the surrounding villages and towns. All the names are arranged in alphabetical order and divided by villages they lived in. There are also a number of children’s drawings from the Terezin ghetto.

As a moving memorial to those who never came back from the camps and ghettos, it is an incredibly sad place to visit and you won’t be blamed for having shed a tear.