Jubilee Synagogue
Encyclopedia
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
. It also known as the Jerusalem Synagogue because of its location on Jerusalem Street. It was built in 1906, designed by Wilhelm Stiassny
Wilhelm Stiassny
Wilhelm Stiassny was an Austrian architect.-Personal life:From 1857 to 1861 Stiassny studied at the Polytechnic in Vienna and then studied architecture at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna under Friedrich von Schmidt.In 1895 Stiassny founded the Society for the Conservation and Preservation of...
and named in honor of the silver Jubilee of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria
Franz Joseph I of Austria
Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I was Emperor of Austria, King of Bohemia, King of Croatia, Apostolic King of Hungary, King of Galicia and Lodomeria and Grand Duke of Cracow from 1848 until his death in 1916.In the December of 1848, Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria abdicated the throne as part of...
. The synagogue is designed in Moorish Revival
Moorish Revival
Moorish Revival or Neo-Moorish is one of the exotic revival architectural styles that were adopted by architects of Europe and the Americas in the wake of the Romanticist fascination with all things oriental...
form with Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau is an international philosophy and style of art, architecture and applied art—especially the decorative arts—that were most popular during 1890–1910. The name "Art Nouveau" is French for "new art"...
decoration, especially in the interior. It was lately renovated and still serves religious purposes. After the Czech Republic became independent of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, it became more usual to call the synagogue the Jerusalem Street Synagogue.
The synagogue preserves inscribed plaques removed from the former Zigeuner synagogue, demolished by the urban renewal campaign that was the cause of the building of the Jubilee synagogue.
The facade and form of the synagogue are a hybridized blend of Moorish Revival
Moorish Revival
Moorish Revival or Neo-Moorish is one of the exotic revival architectural styles that were adopted by architects of Europe and the Americas in the wake of the Romanticist fascination with all things oriental...
and art nouveau
Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau is an international philosophy and style of art, architecture and applied art—especially the decorative arts—that were most popular during 1890–1910. The name "Art Nouveau" is French for "new art"...
, with Horseshoe arch
Horseshoe arch
The horseshoe arch, also called the Moorish arch and the Keyhole arch, is the emblematic arch of Islamic architecture. They were formerly constructed in Visigothic Spain. Horseshoe arches can take rounded, pointed or lobed form....
es on the facade and on the interior columns supporting the women's galleries in a three-bay building. The Mudéjar
Mudéjar
Mudéjar is the name given to individual Moors or Muslims of Al-Andalus who remained in Iberia after the Christian Reconquista but were not converted to Christianity...
red-and-white coursing of the stone facade is particularly striking. Inside, the Moorish elements are overlaid with brilliantly painted Art nouveau
Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau is an international philosophy and style of art, architecture and applied art—especially the decorative arts—that were most popular during 1890–1910. The name "Art Nouveau" is French for "new art"...
patterning.
After a century of being open to the public as a house of worship, on April 1, 2008 the Jubilee Synagogue began opening its doors on a regular basis to tourists and aficionados of historic architecture.