Old Jewish Cemetery

The cemetery in Prague's Josefov is one of the oldest Jewish cemeteries in Europe. It was founded in the 14th century and served as the main burial place for the Prague Jewish community.
	As there was not enough space in the ghetto, people were buried one above the other. There are 12 burial layers in the Old Jewish Cemetery. About 100,000 deceased are resting in the area of one hectare. More than 12,000 gravestones of the Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque periods have been preserved here.
The oldest gravestone dates back to 1439. It belongs to the poet Avigdor Kara. Visitors are most often looking for Rabbi Loew's tombstone. They leave a secret wish written on a piece of paper in the cracks. The newest gravestone in the cemetery dates back to 1787. After that, Emperor Joseph II forbade burying inside the city walls.
Old gravestones are of great value to scientists. In addition to the names of the dead, in long Hebrew texts on the stones, we can read who this person was, what he did, what he achieved, who his relatives were.
Today, the Old Jewish Cemetery is a part of a museum. Information on opening times and admission fees can be found here.