(Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
The ancient Jewish cemetery in Prague, capital of Czechoslovakia, will soon disappear, under the new city planning regulations adopted by the municipal government, states a despatch from Prague to the “Neue Freie Presse.”
The Prague cemetery, which contains the graves of many famous Jews, is the oldest monument of Jewish history in Europe. The age of the cemetery cannot be definitely determined, as the oldest tombstones were destroyed in the massacre of 1389. The first decree referring to the cemetery dates from the year 1254. Among the noteworthy tombs in the cemetery are those of Abidgor b. Isaac Kara (1439), the physician Gedaliah b. Solomon (1486), Mordecai Meisel (1601), Judah Low ben Bezaleel (1609), Simon Wolf Frankel Spira (1679). In 1787 the cemetery was closed by order of Joseph II.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
