The Jewish Museum in Prague celebrates 30 years since its return to the Jewish community
This Sunday, the Jewish Museum in Prague is hosting a celebration at the Spanish Synagogue, to mark 30 years since the museum was put back into the care of the Czech Jewish community. Beginning at 2 pm, the event will include musical and theatrical entertainment for the whole family. From Polish 1930s jazz to Czech-German cabaret, this free event will celebrate both the museum and Jewish contributions to the art, music and life of Central Europe.
The history of the Jewish Museum in Prague began over a hundred years ago in 1906. It was founded by the historian Salomon Hugo Lieben and the municipal councillor August Stein, and had the primary goal of collecting and protecting Jewish religious objects. The museum association was dissolved in 1939, following the German occupation of Czechoslovakia. It fell to the Jewish community to look after its collection, and a new Jewish Central Museum was set up under Nazi supervision. This became a vital repository that saved Jewish books, records and liturgical objects from across the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia.
After the Second World War ended, the Jewish Museum then suffered from the restrictions of the new communist régime. In 1950, it was nationalised. State oversight limited what topics the museum’s exhibitions could discuss. Contact and collaborations with Judaica experts abroad were also prohibited. However, the Velvet Revolution in 1989 brought change to the museum. In 1994, the Czech state relinquished control over it, giving the museum back to the Jewish Community of Prague. The Jewish Museum in Prague was established in September 1994, with Leo Pavlát as its first independent director. The museum’s current director, Pavla Niklová, spoke to Radio Prague about the transition.
“Of course there were many legal obstacles and negotiations, and as far as I know, one of the main personalities who were involved was Pavel Tigrid, who was at that time was the minister of culture. Pavel Tigrid was a prominent representative of Czech anti-communist exiles. He was a writer and a journalist, and he told his lawyer ‘don’t give me reasons why we can’t do that, tell me how we could do that’.
The director, who took on the position a year ago, also shared her plans and aspirations for the next thirty years of the museum.
“In 2026, we will celebrate 120 years of our existence. We are the third-oldest Jewish museum in the world, with one of the most important collections of Judaica. I feel really honoured to receive the trust of the board and the community to run this prestigious organisation. I hope we will do at least as well as the museum has been doing over the last thirty years. We have just prepared the first strategic development plan for the next five years ... We hope that the museum will grow and flourish, that it will become more a part of also Czech culture, because of course people see it as a place visited mostly by tourists.”
To celebrate 30 years of independence, the museum is throwing a party this Sunday. All are welcome, and the programme will feature five different acts. The performances will include dances performed by members of the National Theatre ballet, and jazz and classical pieces of music from the 1930s played by the Polish group Mała Orkiestra Dancingowa.
Due to the current inclement weather, it will not take place outside at Gauč in Stromovka as previously advertised. Instead, attendees can enjoy the celebrations inside the beautiful Spanish Synagogue, on Vězeňská Street in the Old Town, from 2 pm to 9 pm this Sunday.
