Prague Jewish Museum exhibits rare artefacts to mark 120 years

The Jewish Museum in Prague opened a new exhibition at the National Museum in Prague to celebrate its 120th anniversary.

The exhibition features around 100 objects from the museum's extensive collection, which contains more than 40,000 artefacts and over 100,000 historical books. Among the most valuable items is the Trebic Mahzor, a Hebrew prayer book that is more than 700 years old. Curators chose these pieces to tell a narrative of the museum's history as a rescue mission.

This mission began in 1906 to save objects from synagogues demolished during urban redevelopment. The museum continued to save religious objects and valuables from Jewish communities across Bohemia and Moravia during the Second World War. It also faced challenges during the communist regime and after 1989 when people tried to move parts of the collection abroad. The exhibition uses a 19th-century silver spice box shaped like a ship as a central symbol for these efforts.

The display also includes items from the Tzigoiner Synagogue, where the author Franz Kafka had his bar mitzvah in 1896. The exhibition runs until May 31, 2027, and includes guided tours, workshops, and meetings with restorers.