I spent the morning on one of the best museum trips I’ve ever taken. In Prague’s old town, there is a Jewish Quarter. There are at least five synagogues within a stone’s throw from each other, and a massive, yet tiny, cemetary that was quite impressive. I’ll get back to that seemingly oxymoronic comment in a second.

For 480 Czech Crowns (at yesterday’s close, that’s US$28.25) I bought a single ticket that gave me entrance to five synagogues, the Old Jewish Cemetary, a Ceremonial Hall and the Gallery of Robert Guttmann.

These sites were extremely crowded, but the attendants were very helpful in moving folks along, and every artifact was clearly explained in Czech and English. And Hebrew, in some instances. But let me get back to that comment for a minute.

The Old Jewish Cemetary is one of the most important sites on the ticket. It was established in the beginning of the 15th century and the oldest gravestone is that of Avigdor Kara from 1439. The whole area was less than the size of a football field, but has more than 12,000 gravemarkers.

Experts say that there are many more graves than gravestone in this cemetary, though. As the area was “expanded”, the residents brought in more dirt, and the new graves were layered overtop the old ones. Now, the top of layer is more than 15 feet higher than the street level.

It was one of the most haunting and interesting moments on the tour.

Another interesting sight was the Spanish Synagogue. The temple was inspired by Moorish design and was built in 1868. Rich wood panelling is gilded and painted withflowing designs and deep reds and blues. It made me catch my breath.

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