The Moorish façade
Two arches in zigzagged red and white with a Star of David above — a front that stops you even in passing.
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Because it was built in 1906 after older synagogues in Josefov were demolished during the quarter's redevelopment, so the replacement went up on a new site near the station. That is why it stays off the usual visitor line despite being the largest and most beautiful.
Clearly yes: ten minutes' walk from Wenceslas Square and a cheap ticket for one of the most beautiful interiors in Prague, with no crowd at all. Among the best deals in the city.
Both are Moorish in style, but the Spanish is older (1868), smaller and more gilded, and part of the Jewish Museum on a combined ticket. The Jubilee is larger, more colourful, cheaper and quieter. If you have time for both, do both — the experiences differ.
The main station itself is worth a look for its original Art Nouveau hall, and Wenceslas Square and the National Museum are ten minutes on foot.
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The Jubilee Synagogue — also called the Jerusalem Synagogue, after the street it stands on — is Prague's largest and most vividly coloured synagogue, and yet most visitors miss it, because it lies outside the traditional Jewish quarter, minutes from the main railway station. It was built in 1906 to replace three synagogues demolished during the redevelopment of Josefov, and named for the fiftieth anniversary of Emperor Franz Joseph's reign. Its façade is astonishing: two large Moorish arches in zigzagging red and white, a Star of David above, and ornament combining Moorish style with Viennese Art Nouveau — a rare mixture you find almost nowhere else. The interior matches it: coloured columns, striped arches and a blue ceiling of golden stars, with a large organ in the upper gallery. The building survived the Second World War because the Nazis used it as a store for confiscated property, which is why several Prague synagogues still stand. Today it functions as a synagogue, receives visitors and hosts concerts. The ticket is cheap and the visit short, making it one of the best value-for-money stops in the whole of Prague.
Two arches in zigzagged red and white with a Star of David above — a front that stops you even in passing.
A blue vault picked out with golden stars above the prayer hall — the finest interior ceiling of any Prague synagogue.
Go up to the gallery to see the ornament from above; it holds a small exhibition on the history of Prague's Jews.
Off the usual tourist line, you may well have the building to yourself — genuinely rare in Prague.
Jeruzalémská 7, Prague 1 — near the main railway station