For over 600 years a strange spectacle has unfolded at five minutes to the hour, every hour, high above Prague’s Old Town Square. The monumental Astrological Clock on Old Town Hall’s façade springs to life: a parade of the 12 Apostles creaks by, grossly stereotypical adversaries of the Holy Roman Empire such as the Jewish moneylender and the fearsome Turk pop out of other windows; a skeleton ominously shakes his hourglass, reminding of Death and the Plague. Many legends surround this monstrously beautiful timepiece, including the dire prediction that, should the clock ever stop, the ghosts of the 27 Czech nobles, beheaded here on the square in 1620, shall rise up in that instance, and demand an explanation!
However, as legends go, the most fabulous occur just two hundred meters from Old Town Square. When we enter Josefov, the oldest and most-storied Jewish quarter in all Europe, we enter another time – literally! The hands on the Hebrew Clock on the sixteenth century Jewish Town Hall run counter-clockwise, just as the poet Apollinaire claimed. Many of the Jewish Quarter’s legends revolve around the renowned scholar and companion of Rudolf II, Rabbi Low. In one of Prague’s most enduring legends, Rabbi Low appears as a powerful alchemist who creates the notorious creature, The Golem, to protect the Jewish Quarter against the world’s evil forces.
Individual English speaking guide (4 hours) — 80 euros
Group excursion (4 hours) — 20 euros / person
Admission fees are not included / optional:
Jewish Quarter (Maisel Synagogue, Klaus Synagogue, Spanish Synagogue, Pinkas Synagogue, Jewish Museum, Old-New Synagogue) — 11 euros / person
Old-New Synagogue — 9 euros / person
