The Old New Synagogue: A Visitor Guide to Europe's Oldest Active Synagogue

Address, Entry and Hours

The synagogue is administered separately by the Jewish Community of Prague, but it sits inside the unified Jewish Town ticket area. Since 1 January 2024 there has been no separate Old-New Synagogue ticket: entry comes with the circuit ticket sold as the Jewish Quarter Ticket. That same ticket covers the Maisel, Pinkas and Spanish Synagogue sites and the Old Jewish Cemetery, and each site may be entered only once per ticket. Security checks apply on entry, and bags over 30 litres are refused, with no luggage storage on site. The table pulls the practical details together.

Hours differ by season and the sources differ slightly: the museum page confirms 9:00-17:00 from 2 January to 31 March, while the synagogue's own page shows 9:00-18:00 daily except Saturdays and Jewish holidays in the current season. The synagogue usually closes an hour before Shabbat begins, so on Friday afternoons arrive early.

How Long to Allow and When to Come

The museum puts a complete circuit of all the sites at roughly 2-3 hours, and the Old-New Synagogue itself is one stop within that. Ticket sales end 30 minutes before closing, entry is guaranteed up to 30 minutes before closing, and staff begin ushering visitors out 10 minutes before the hour. Because each site can be entered once per ticket, plan the route before you start, and use the Prague Jewish Quarter map to order the stops.

The museum advises avoiding the 11:00-15:00 peak, because mornings and late afternoons are much quieter. Photography for personal use is allowed without tripod, selfie stick, extra lighting or flash. Food, drinks and smoking are banned in all visitor areas, and dogs are banned except certified assistance dogs. Children under 15 must be accompanied by an adult.

Services are the reason the building exists, and it has held them for over 700 years, apart from 1942-1945. The synagogue remains an active place of worship, so visits are limited to opening hours and shut out entirely on Saturdays and Jewish holidays. Service times are not listed in the sources behind this guide, so do not plan to sit in a service. On Jewish holidays the circuit closed around Pesach, Shavuot, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot and Shemini Atzeret, so check the published closure dates before you travel. If you want the interior explained rather than just seen, the Jewish Quarter and Museum Tour is a private 3-hour option at $81 per person with a guide certified by the Jewish Museum.

The Gothic Hall

The hall is a double nave with six vaulted bays, a form that survives here as one of the oldest synagogue interiors in Europe. The Jewish Community of Prague describes it as the authentic and uniquely preserved Early Gothic interior of one of the oldest European synagogues. Twelve lancet windows light the space, and the stone pillars that divide the nave carry the vaults above.

The building was renovated in 1883. Legends gather around the fabric too: one says angels brought the foundation stones from the destroyed Temple of Jerusalem, and another says angels turned into doves and protected the synagogue from fire. The date is the one point where sources disagree.

The Jewish Museum dates the building to the last third of the 13th century, while Wikipedia gives completion in 1270, so both versions are honest readings of the record.

The Five-Rib Vault

The vault is the feature architects come for. Each bay carries a five-rib vault, not the four or six ribs that were standard elsewhere, which makes the vaulting unusual. The vaults were built by the same royal-workshop masons responsible for the rest of the building, and they have carried the roof for over seven centuries.

The synagogue's own site calls it the main synagogue of the Prague Jewish community for more than 700 years, and the vault has spanned that whole span of use apart from the wartime break.

Continuous Use

The hall has been in continuous use since the 13th century, apart from 1942-1945 when the synagogue was closed. Rabbi Loew's seat stands to the right of the altar and has its own note below. No separate fees apply to see any part of the hall, since entry rides on the circuit ticket.

The Women's Annexes

The main hall was historically the men's space, and women followed services from separate annexes at the side of the building.

The Banner

The red Jewish banner was awarded by Ferdinand III in recognition of the community's part in defending Prague in the Thirty Years War, in the 1648 defence of the city. Flash photography is not allowed, so the banner and the rest of the interior are best shot in the available light.

Rabbi Loew's Seat

To the right of the altar stands a seat that has stayed empty since the death of Rabbi Loew, the scholar known as the Maharal. His grave in the Old Jewish Cemetery nearby is the most visited there. The Golem legend that attaches to his name also points here, because the legend places the clay creature's remains in the synagogue's attic, though searches in 1883 and again in 2014 found no trace of any golem.

The full story of the legend is told in the guide to the Golem of Prague, and the Old Jewish Cemetery guide covers his grave.

The Attic and the Golem

The legend says the attic of the Old-New Synagogue holds the remains of the Golem, the clay figure Rabbi Loew is said to have animated to defend the ghetto during the reign of Rudolf II. The story switches the creature off by removing the aleph from emet, truth, leaving met, dead, and the body was carried to the attic according to the tale. Historians treat the whole legend as a literary invention: the earliest written Prague accounts appear in the 1830s-1840s by German-Jewish writers, Rabbi Loew never mentioned a golem in his writings, and Yudl Rosenberg's 1909 version is generally regarded as a literary hoax.

The attic itself was checked in 1883 and explored again in 2014, and neither search found any evidence of a golem. The full account lives in the Golem of Prague guide.

Key Dates

The table pulls together the dated events from the Jewish Community of Prague, the Jewish Museum and Wikipedia. Sources disagree on the completion date: the museum puts the building in the last third of the 13th century, while Wikipedia dates completion to 1270.

It was first called the New or Great Shul and took the name Old-New, or Altneuschul, once newer synagogues appeared in the late 16th century. It was built by stone-masons from the royal workshop, the same men who worked on the nearby Convent of St Agnes. Legend says angels brought the foundation stones from the destroyed Temple of Jerusalem and later turned into doves to shield the synagogue from fire.

Why It Survived

Between 1893 and 1913 most buildings of the old ghetto were torn down. Only six synagogues, the cemetery and the Town Hall survived the clearance, and this was one of them. It is the main synagogue of the Prague Jewish community to this day, and the community describes its interior as the authentic and uniquely preserved Early Gothic interior of one of the oldest synagogues in Europe.

The building has been in continuous use except 1942-1945. To see how it fits into the district as a whole, read the wider guide to the Jewish Quarter in Prague.

What the Attic Holds

Legend says the attic holds the remains of the Golem, the clay servant Rabbi Loew is said to have made to defend the ghetto during the reign of Rudolf II. The creature was animated by a shem, a slip carrying God's name placed in its head or mouth. Removing the aleph from emet, truth, leaves met, dead, and switches the Golem off.

Historians treat the story as a literary invention. The Maharal never mentioned a golem in his writings and no Prague source from the 16th to 18th century does. The earliest written accounts date to 1837-1847 by German-Jewish writers, and Yudl Rosenberg's 1909 version is generally regarded as a hoax. The attic itself was checked in 1883 and explored again in 2014. Neither search found any trace of a golem. The full story, including the shem and the legend's later career, is on the page about the Golem of Prague.

Tours That Go Inside

Only some listings say plainly that entry to the Old-New Synagogue is covered. The Jewish Quarter Tour with Tickets at $74 per person lists admission to the Old-New, Maisel, Pinkas and Spanish synagogues and the Old Jewish Cemetery in its 2.5 hours. The Jewish Quarter Ticket with Optional Audio Guide at $51 per person is a self-guided option, valid 1 day, with a 20-minute introduction in English and entry to the same sites.

The Jewish Quarter and Museum Tour costs from $81 per person as a private group and includes a 25 euro entrance fee, though the listing does not name the circuit ticket. The Private Jewish Quarter Tour from Lucytours costs $165.89 per person and its inclusions name the entrance fee to the Jewish Museum and the Old New Synagogue directly. By contrast, the Old Town and Jewish Quarter Walking Tour at $22 per person is exteriors only, so it will not take you through this door. Compare these against the full range of Jewish Quarter tours in Prague before you book.