New Jewish Cemetery (Prague)
- A PRESERVED CULTURAL
MONUMENT -
The New Jewish Cemetery in Prague 3 is a preserved
cultural monument as a whole ; due to its character, disposition
and a hundred-year excellent administration supported by a considerable
role the Hevra Kaddisha (burial society) played in Prague's Jewish
community. The Hevra Kaddisha saw to it that graves were established
in cemetery lots both chronologically and in accordance with the
family's wish and significance which played its natural and social
roles even at the moment of death in the bourgeois society. The
Hevra Kaddisha also saw to it that inscriptions on tombstones were
truthful and testifying to the buried person's character.
Since its establishment in 1891, the cemetery
has been surrounded by the wall protecting the space for some 100.000
graves, i. e. for about one century. There were also structures
built in the building style that prevailed in Prague in those times
- neo-Renaissance. It is the style of the funeral parlor with a
respectable hall of prayer, and adjacent rooms needed for the ritual
preparation of the burial ; as well as the administration building
including the cemetery caretaker's office and his and gravediggers'
apartments, and other structures such as a storehouse of wood used
to make coffins. Since the very beginning, the cemetery has been
properly divided in lots which were gradually used as graves ; and
a walk around the cemetery also gives an idea of the styles in which
the tombs were built. The cemetery is situated on a hill sloped
from the north down to the south and from the west down to the east,
in a basin in its southeastern part where a columbary with its own
funeral parlor was added in the 20s. Originally, it was completely
separated and now it is connected with the main cemetery by means
of passageways. The division of the cemetery suggested a significant
architecture of tombstones for the graves situated at the corner
of individual lots as well as the graves situated near main alleys
- particularly in the alley were a burial procession walked from
the funeral parlor down to the grave. The New Jewish Cemetery which
will never be completely filled with graves because the devastating
blast of Nazism exterminated those who could and should have rested
here one day, is a homogenous architectural monument.

ENTRANCE
AREA AND HONORARY LOTS
The New Jewish Cemetery which opens with a decorated
grating of the entrance gate has its honorary lots and memorials.
In the middle of the cemetery next to the main alley is a lot reserved
for the commemoration of those who gained recognition for their
work for the Jewish community - representatives of Prague's Jewish
community and its Board as well as other well-known personalities
including fellow Jews from foreign countries who passed away while
handling Jewish affairs here. Right next to the entrance is a honorary
place where significant rabbis are buried.
This is the place to see tombstones which have
been pronounced preserved by Prague's Center of Monuments Preservation
because of their artistic value. There are almost a hundred tombstones
like that at the cemetery. Except for having been recorded for the
Preservation Center documents, they have never been described as
a whole. This is why this article aims to provide a detailed description
and analysis.
Rabbi Nathan Ehrenfeld's large Lomb is
made of granite and has a decorative pedestal with a vegetable stylized
motif. It was designed by architect Paul Albert Kopetzky who left
behind a lot of his developmental works at this cemetery, ranging
from the late Art Nouveau to the early constructivism. Ehrenfeld's
tombstone from 1912 is an extraordinary example of the pure post-Art
Nouveau decorativism as far as its ornament, design and lettering
are concerned. The tombstone makes an urbanistic unit with Chief
Rabbi Gustav Sicher's grave whose simple constructivism of
the 60s is amended with a tombstone shaped as the Tablets of the
Law. The entrance alley is also lined with the "Patria" memorial
and the memorial commemorating the extinct community in Dolni
Kralovice, which is shaped as a single stone. The monument
commemorating the soldiers killed in World War One dating
from 1926 is a remarkable piece of art - an oblong ashlar embedded
in two small oblong pedestals.
A memorial which has been drawing most visitors'
attention since its installment in 1985 is that commemorating the
Czechoslovak Jews who perished in concentration camps or were
killed in resistance fights An ornament of concave ellipses concentrated
around a hole are cut in a sandstone block - evoking the impression
of a tortured world in whose midst the Star of David is shining.
The piece of art whose designers are sculptor Zdenek Vodicka, architect
Vladimir Stehlik and stone-cutter Jaroslav Hampl deeply effects
the conscience of all, regardless their faith or world outlook.

TOMBSTONES
AT THE NORTHERN WALL - A DISPLAY OF DEVELOPMENT OF STYLES
The way individual styles and tombstones made
in them developed between 1891 and the 40s is displayed on the gravestones
leaning against the cemetery's northern wall.
From the neo-Gothic style through neo-Renaissance,
the Art Nouveau (from its beginning to climax and fading away),
classicism, purism to constructivism - we can find all the styles
there were which also affected the architecture of the cemetery.
We can see the styles that are often enriched with Hebrew or Hellenistic
elements, in some places even influenced by the Mayan art, on tombstones
standing elsewhere.
The Poppers' grave at the wall in section
1 is a distinct monumental tomb with the proportionally oversized
handrail and pillars - the massive pillar structure with a segmental
pediment draws attention by its unusual depth. The grave dates from
1912.
The tomb of the Lederer family which dates
from 1892 is one of the most expensive and most original structures
at the cemetery. The tomb's ground floor as well as the first floor
which are identical in their composition use Gothic elements, both
in the form of lancet, arches, ribs, pinnacles etc. It has a square
ground plan with an open arcade on the ground floor ; there is a
vase on the pedestal in the middle, with a wreath made of stone
hanging down in the front on steps.
The excellent neo-Renaissance tomb of the Waldstein
family dates from the same period. It is a pillar structure with
an entrance area in the middle and with a segmental pediment at
the end, and a vase on top.
The tomb of the Fuchs family dates from
the times the cemetery was founded. It is a neo-Renaissance tomb,
homogeneous in its composition, with open two-arch arcades on the
sides. The structure is covered with a high ridge roof with a panel
ceiling underneath. There are supporting pillars as well as Ionic
semi-columns with archivolts at the head of the structure. The roofs
ties are decorated with chiseled ornaments and the roofs gable has
side volutes and another lower triangular gable built in the front.
The metal-sheathed door is decorated with lines.
The tomb of the Östreicher family
is also built in the refined neo-Renaissance style. It has a high
pedestal with six Ionic columns that support a canopy-shaped roof.
The open area among the arcades holds a coffin of stone, decorated
with palm-leaves, and with a portrait plaque of the deceased under
the edge. The whole tomb dating from 1891 is inspired by the Belveder
summer house.
The last tomb in row 2-1 is that of the Kubintzky
family. It is a mausoleum on an oblong ground plan, and the most
expensive neo-Renaissance tomb at the cemetery. Its walls are divided
with classical patterns and the front wall with two Corinthian columns
supporting the classical entablature and a triangular gable culminates
with a ballustrade with vases and a name. The mausoleum's roof is
canopy-shaped with open arches in the side walls, lined with double
pilasters, and with the top surfaces of the walls with hole-shaped
open-work inspired by a motif by the Renaissance architect Palladio.
The structure was designed by architect Alfons Wertmüller in
1892.
Apart from other tombs designed for the cemetery,
the prominent Czech architect Jan Kotera showed best examples of
the cemetery architecture on tombs of the Robitschek and
Elbogen families in section 2 near the cemetery wall. The
Elbogen tomb which dates from 1901 has a metal-sheathed two-part
door with a dynamic ornament of spirals and leaves in its front
wall. There are round granite flower pots in the corners of the
sides. Tomb rims project from them to the gravestones on which the
pillar is built on the ellipse-shaped ground plan. In the middle
of the tombstone are plaques with converging sides and a triangle-shaped
gable ; on the sides there are analogical and symmetrically situated
small gravestones, with decorated fixing brackets in the gaps. It
is a marble tomb five meters high, with two tall pillars decorated
with a vegetable motif in their capital, as well as a door grating
and gravestone. The tombstone has two side pillars with a vegetable
motif in the capital, with a tall pylon with an ornament and the
family's name between them ; and another vegetable motif on top.
The grave dates from 1902. (The two pieces of art designed by Kotera
should be restored as soon as possible since particularly the grave's
metal parts have been considerably damaged.)
The tomb of the Lederer family from 1898
falls in line with those by Kotera near the wall in section 2. It
is a segmental tombstone with a conical central piece completed
with volutes with bronze shapes of ever-burning fire. There is a
vegetable ornament in the frieze on the sides as well as in the
top third of the tombstone. One appreciates the sculptural decoration
and elements of arts and crafts of high quality.
Next to the wall in the same section are three
graves designed by architect Zasche, which form one developmental
line. The tomb of the Thorsch family dating from 1908 is
an excellent Art Nouveau composition ; the grave is lined with a
high railing of stone with small columns, and their metal paneling
is decorated with a simple geometrical ornament. The tall tombstone
has two side pillars and a triangular gable, with names of the deceased
inside.
The tomb of the Götz family dating
from 1911 is built in the post-Art Nouveau style. In contains artistic
elements of high quality - the grave has a high railing with small
pillars made of iron, and a lintel and bronze partition walls with
a vegetable motif in the paneling. The tomb is a flat pillar structure
with a triangle-shaped gable. There is also a recess which is rimmed
with round flat quarter-pillars with a segmentally overlapping lintel.
The recess contains a tombstone rimmed with a bronze ornament and
with names of the buried, and with a massive granite flower pot
underneath.
The third tomb in the row of graves designed by
Zasche is that of the Sobotka family which dates from 1911
and is built in the distinctly e decorative classicizing style.
The grave's curb stone with two steps in the front has a high decorated
bronze railing and, in the middle of the tomb, a high curb stone
of the grave, which is decorated with a motif of curls. The tomb
itself has a deep recess at the wall, with a bronze plaque with
names of the buried. In the tympanum above is a colorful mosaic
with a decorative motive.
The tomb of the Schwabacher family at the
wall in section 7 was built in the classicizing style in about 1913.
In the middle of the grave which is rimmed with granite there is
a flower pot designed as a cut hollow column with a pedestal. A
regular ashlar holds a cylindrical obelisk with an ornamental frame
around inscriptions, which is also decorated with a motif of flowers.
The capital consists of intersecting triangular gables.
At the wall in section 7 is the tomb of the Schick
family which was made of black granite. It is situated on a narrow
lot. It has two simply profiled small pillars in the front, and
in between there is the gravestone as a heraldic gable with two
bronze heraldic ornaments. On the grave in the middle there are
two elliptic flower pots. A bronze plaque with names of the dead
is inlaid on the pilaster structure of the tomb. The tombstone's
pedestal leans against two stone triangles. The grave which was
built in the late Art Nouveau style dates from about 1911.
The large tomb of the industrialist as well as
supporter of Czech-Jewish religious efforts named Bondy which
dates from about 1907 was designed by the prominent architect of
Czech Art Nouveau J. Fanta. The tomb consists of a central piece
with five gravestones. The central one contains a large motif of
flowers with names of the deceased. In terms of style, design, lettering
as well as the bronze ornaments, it is a homogenous and refined
work.
The magnificent tomb of the Glauber family
which dates from 1911 was also built in the late Art Nouveau style
by architect Ad. Foehr. The simple grave with a stone curb has two
pillars with an ornamental bronze door in the front. The tomb paneled
with horizontally grooved plates consists of a pedestal and a three-part
asymmetrical main unit. There is a flower pot in the bottom part.
On the left on a rising pedestal there is a pilaster structure with
an ornamental grating and concave lintel, and in the recess we can
find names of the deceased and a bronze portrait plaque. The tomb's
dominating point is an ornamental pedestal with three bronze flower
pots decorated with an ornament of curls.
The tomb of the Sonnenschein family at
the wall in section 7 was built in the Greek-like Art Nouveau classicism
in 1913. The tomb consists of a simple grave lined with a low railing
with simple pillars ; a monumental tombstone behind, and a tall
massive pillar structure with a transverse beam and dates of birth
and death of the deceased in the recess.
Three other tombs preserved as monuments are situated
at the wall in section 8.
That of the Meindl family which dates 1918
was built in the late Art Nouveau style. It is a proportionally
well-elaborated structure with an intimate impact. It is homogenous
in terms of the architectural style, lettering as well as artistic
elements. The simple grave has a curb stone and ornamental iron
railing, and the tombstone is oval-shaped, with names of the deceased
in the recess.
The tomb of the Eisler family was built
in about 1923 in the monumental classicizing style. It is a homogeneous
piece in terms of its elements. Behind, the curb-stoned grave there
are two tombstones - one is a pillar recess containing names of
the deceased and with an equilaterally triangular gable. The other
tombstone in the front consists of a pedestal with a name of the
deceased, and with a Greek-like war mask with a helmet as an obvious
reminder of the recent war lot.
The tomb of the Waldes family dating from
1933 can be appreciated as an excellent classicizing design. The
grave is rimmed with a curb stone and the marble tombstone has a
tall pilaster shape with a bronze gravestone plaque, names of the
deceased and two life-size bronze vignettes. The gable is supported
with brackets with a vegetable motif.
At the wall in section 9 is a remarkable tomb
of the Lechner family dating from about 1913. The grave is
designed as a garden with a high granite railing and two-part bronze
door ornamented on its front side.
The tombstone has a flat pillar shape with a triangular
gable, and a pedestal with a sculpture of a dying owl with books
on its right side.
There is also the tomb of the Petschek
family from 1919, one of the largest and most monumental classicizing
tombs at the cemetery, of an excellent artistic quality. The austere
concept of the Greek-like structure is enriched by a high-quality
decorative grating. The grave planted with flowers is surrounded
with a tall tombstone and an open arcade of Doric columns of light
granite. The arcade has an entrance door in the middle, and decorative
gratings in between the columns. The tombstone is a Doric pillar
structure with a plaque with names and dates of the deceased, and
a flower pot of black polished granite. It has a triangular gable
on top, which is supported with brackets in a transverse beam.
At the wall in section 10 is the inventive tomb
of the Beck family, dating from 1939, which is of a remarkable
quality in terms of arts and crafts. Behind the grave with a curb
stone, and two decorative flower pots with vegetable ornaments in
the front, there is a tombstone shaped as a tall isosceles triangle
with the data on the deceased. The middle of the bottom part holds
a bronze door with vegetable and symbolical motifs and two sculpted
portraits, and simple plaster on an ashlar on the peripheral cemetery
wall behind the tombstone. (It comes from Joh.. Zinngross's stone-cutting
shop in Pilsen).
Between sections 10 and 25 near the wall there
is the classicizing travertine tomb of lawyer Julius Petschek
which dates from 1932. It is a conspicuous and accurately finished
monumental structure, one of the most impressive ones at the cemetery.
The recessed tombstone with the name of the deceased is bordered
with two side open pillar arcades with a transverse lintel. There
are steps with side plinths leading to the grave which is planted
with flowers and very well-kept.
The last of the preserved tombs near the northern
wall of the cemetery is the narrow longitudinal tomb of the Andres
family in section 25. It is a simple structure in the classicism
of the 30s, dating from about 1935. On its sides, the pillar tomb
has high open arcades with round front parts. There is a plaque
with the data on the deceased in the recess, and little seats in
the middle. The monumental design gives a certain chamber impression.

BEAUTIFUL
TOMBS IN OPEN-SPACE LOTS
Let us pass from the graves near the northern
wall to lots in the open space. Mostly neo-Renaissance tombs were
built in the cemetery's first decade ; the tomb of the Kämpf
family (1892) 3-14-1 has a small sarcophagus on small volutes seated
on an intricately profiled pedestal but it is a dominating architectural
and urbanistic element on the important crossroads in the main alley.
The tomb of the Ederer family is the last in row 3-14. The
pillar structure is situated on a high pedestal, with Corinthian
columns which support a corrugated pediment with a vase and side
capitals. The proportionately well-balanced structure dates from
1893. Grave 4-7, 8-1 of the Altschul family is a tomb with
a railing and two-side pillar structure with classical proportions
and a low side balustrade. It dates from about 1896. There is also
the excellent classicist tomb (5-1,2) of Hersch-Petschek
dating from 1894, which is a tall tombstone based on a stone ashlar
three-step pedestal whose middle part supports segmental pediments
with volutes with bronze bowls and ever-burning fire. The tombstone
is ended with a tall and thin conical obelisk.
The proportional
design of grave 5-1-24, 25 of the
Porges
family which dates from 1895 resembles the conventional production
but is amended with a high-quality sculpted portrait plaque.
(To see a photo, click
here) |
Tombstone 5B-1-10 of the Benies family from
1898 is unique as to a motif : the pillar structure that is seated
on a step-like pedestal contains a landscape relief with a broken
tree and a railing in front of which a basket with scattered flowers
is situated. Dates of the deceased are inscribed on two volutes
in front of the tombstone.

VIENNESE
AND PRAGUE ART NOUVEAU
Architect E. V. Gotthilf designed grave 5B-1-3
of Sophie Pollak in 1899 as a unique example of Viennese
Art Nouveau at this cemetery : on a recessed pedestal sits a conical
tetragonal tall obelisk ended with a ledge with a bronze band with
rosettes and a segment with a bronze application of twigs and flowers.
In the obelisk's top third is a band decorated with a meandrous
pattern with four brackets with wreaths. The Art Nouveau concept
is based on the Empire. Tomb B3-14-8,9 of the Sommer family
from 1901 consists of a pilaster-shaped tombstone with a flat profiled
lintel, and a relief plaque with a portrait of the deceased by J.
Grubner in the recess. Grave 3B-13-11 of the Löwy family
dating from 1900 is, in terms of style, a homogeneous Art Nouveau
tombstone ; it is oblong and conical, situated on a profiled pedestal,
with a bronze application of a flower pattern, ended with a capital
with volutes and a segment with a bronze application of a wreath.
Turnau's grave at the end of row 7-4 is a unique historizing
structure ; it has three profiled columns with decorated paneling
on the sides, at the head of the grave is a Ionic column with side
brackets with bronze wreaths and on top of the column there is a
bronze urn veiled in a funeral pall - all designed by architect
Theodor Schreiter in 1901.
Perutz's grave at the end of row 7-5 was
also built in the Art Nouveau style in 1902 by the prominent Czech
architect Jan Kotera. The tall slender tombstone is ended with a
lancet arch, at the head there is a Gne relief vegetable decoration
which is a replica of front pillars of the Robittschek family
grave (at the wall in section 2). Perutz's grave at the end
of row 11-1 is another excellent design by Kotera - a late Art Nouveau
piece from 1904. There is a profiled black granite curb stone with
a step around the grave, and the tombstone with side profiled pedestals
is set between two pillars which are ended with a small frieze of
colorful mosaic. The tombstone with names of the deceased is ended
with a decorated extended piece with brackets and a colorful frieze.
Three tombs dating from 1903-1907 were also built
in the Art Nouveau style, namely that of Stadler family (11-11-1)
which is the usual type of tombstone but it is exceptional in terms
of workmanship and the simple modification of details. The top of
the prismatoid tombstone is ended with a bronze flower pot on a
prismatoid pedestal which contrasts with side surfaces that recede
backwards. Grave 19-1-13 is an altogether unique example of the
Art Nouveau concept - it is the grave of painter Max Horb
(1882-1907), member of the artistic group called OSMA (Eight) whose
painting probably served as a model of the sandstone gravestone
which, unfortunately, has been damaged - it bears a relief of a
willow tree with a peacock. The tombstone was designed by the famous
Czech sculptor Jan Stursa.
Also grave 15-14-12 which is that of the Heller
family was built in the Art Nouveau style. Stylized volutes on the
side project from the flower pot to the sides of a tall tombstone
which is also ended with two volutes, with bronze applications on
the sides.
Grave 15-14-9 of the Wehle family from
1906 was built in the classicizing style but it also uses Art Nouveau
and artistic elements. Two conical pillars with bronze ornamental
capitals decorated with flowers bear a triangular pediment. The
tombstone with names of the deceased holds a bronze portrait plaque.
There are wrought ornamental flower pots on a pedestal on the sides.
The rare original tombstone of the Pick family (12-8-28)
dating from 1909 was designed by architect Mühlstein with a
monumental impact ; it is a granite gravestone with broad pillars
projecting obliquely forwards, with another two triples of stylized
pillars in the middle of a narrow recess. The structure is ended
with a concave lintel. In general, the tomb is homogeneous in all
its parts.
Another twelve remarkable tombstones from 1901-1911
are also affected by the Art Nouveau style - Gerstl's grave
7-11-1 is a simple structure with two flower pots and a gravestone
in between with names of the deceased. Russ's tombstone 7-1-12
has a high artistic quality. Shaped as a stylized vegetable volute
with four front projections, it is as exceptional as the grave of
painter Horb. Remarkable ornaments attract attention to the third
grave in row 7-1 - that of the Pollak family - where a rich
bronze application on all over the stone tombstone as well as a
vegetal motif on its sides are a style representation of the period
style. On the contrary, the fourth grave from the end of row 7-1
- that of the Fanta family - is a dignified and simple, profiled
in the Art Nouveau style, and oblong and conical tombstone which
is ended with a decorative superstructure, and has a metal railing
on the curb stone all around the grave cut in the pure style. Grave
7-8-36 Herrnheiser has a portrait plaque of the deceased.
The tombstone is set on a profiled pedestal with two side tall pillars,
and with a bronze decoration with a vegetable motif on top. The
plaque - designed probably by A. Rieber - resembles the works by
sculptor Sucharda. The second grave from the end of row 8-1 -Roth
- is a granite tombstone whose prismatoid pedestal bears two octagonal
pillars supporting a canopy lintel with a profiled ledge. A bronze
of the deceased is set between the pillars and there is a flower
pot in the upper part. The tombstone was built in Art Nouveau style
and is homogeneous in all of its parts. Architect Zasche designed
another tombstone 11-1-8,9 - Krasnopolski's - whose grave
is covered with a tablet and surrounded with a high granite railing
with a two-wing door which is decorated with a simple pattern. The
tombstone with bronze pillars on the sides is ended with a triangular
gable. The tombstone has an obli9ue plaque in the middle with names
of the deceased. Surfaces are decorated with a rich linear vegetable
motif, and a metal lamp hangs down on chains below the lintel. The
tombstone is built in the classicizing Art Nouveau. A magnificent
Art Nouveau structure with high-quality artistic elements is grave
12-15 -end of row of the Kraus family, where prisms ended
with quadratic flower pots gradually descent from the tombstone's
grave. Names of the deceased are inscribed in the recess with bronze
ornaments and an obli9ue plaque, while side pillars are ended with
a frieze with bronze decoration. Grave 15-14-13 of the Heller
family is a monumental peak Art Nouveau structure where stylized
volutes are projected from front stone flower pots to the sides
of a tall tombstone. The gravestone with names of the deceased which
is ended with two volutes on top has a pedestal in its lower part,
and bronze ornaments on the sides. Architect A. Foehr has designed
the second tombstone at the end of row 15-1 - that of the Sohr
family. It is an austere proportional structure with a high paneled
granite railing and tall oblong tombstone as well as a front bronze
door. On the sides are two prismatoid pillars with open semi-circular
capitals as flower pots, with an area in between which is paneled
with granite slabs, holding bronze ellipse-shaped railings in its
upper part. Grave 4-1-16 of the Derblich family is an original
structure. It is a tall oblong granite tombstone with the bronze
application of a medallion hanging down on stripes and bordered
with a wreath, and with names of the deceased within. In the front,
the gravestone is decorated with two low pedestals with wrought
bronze flower pots. Grave 5B-1-1-2 of the Weltsch family
dates from the first two decades of the cemetery's existence, between
1891-1911, and is one of the preserved monuments. The first in the
row by the main alley, it is a monumental exquisite tombstone with
a distinct Czech inscription, which was designed by the Art Nouveau
architect A. Balsanek in 1900. It is a granite square mausoleum
with two Doric columns and a triangular pediment in the front, and
roofed with a cupola. There are decorative motifs on the sides,
with a three-part window underneath, and an ornamental forged grating
as a door. Three steps with two side vases lead to the door. Grave
13-16-10 of the Heller family is one of less usual types
of an Art Nouveau tombstone. It is a round lancet arch with an ornament
of flat stylized volutes, dating from about 1910. Grave 12-13 -
of the Strass family is characteristic of its proportionally
austere design. The grave is bordered with four columns. It has
a two-part door in the front and a metal railing paneling the balustrade.
It is a pillar structure on a tall oblong pedestal, ended with a
segmental gable with a bronze application. In the bottom part there
are decorative flower pots on pillars in front of the tombstone.
The design was made by architect Neugebauer in 1910 in the classicizing
style. Tombstone 12-14, 13 of the Egerer family is a valuable
piece of architecture dating from 1910 with a uniquely designed
ornamental bronze canopy supported with four conical prismatoid
pillars. The regular prismatoid tombstone of Pollack (16-3-1)
was built one year later. A low pedestal with double pillars support
a medium-sized tomb and above it, a transverse beam and a segmental
profiled pediment, and in between pillars a portrait plaque of the
deceased. A certain architectural resemblance to the above mentioned
Heller tombstone (15-14-12) bears tomb 6-12-20 of Pollakova
dating from 1914 which was made by the same stone-cutting shop (E.
Radnitz). It is a simple grave with a granite curb stone which gradually
rises on the sides to the tombstones' top. It is decorated with
relief applications of flower bands at the end. The simple oblong
gravestone with a relief plaque with names of the deceased is ended
with a massive wide band wound in a volute. There is a wrought flower
pot in the bottom part. Tombstone 19-1-3 of the Reinisch
family dates from about 1910. It is a tall granite pylon on an ellipsoid
plot, with a bronze medallion with dates of the deceased in its
top third, and a funeral veil hanging down. The tombstone has a
classicizing tendency.

FROM
CLASSICISM TO CONSTRUCTIVISM
The preserved tombstones dating from the following
three decades of the cemetery's existence, namely from 1911 to the
period of Nazi transports, show the development of the feeling for
style from the disappearing Art Nouveau and come-back classicism
to purism and constructivism. Tombstone 2-16 of Katz which
is shaped as a recessed pillar structure was built in the post-Art
Nouveau style in 1914. It is ended with a straight lintel with a
bronze decoration of targets in the frieze, and a bronze ledge with
volutes and palm-leaf motifs. The Greek-like design of Tomb 6-14-12
of Bendiener dating from about 1913 is also refined. The
pillar structure with a relief of stylized Corinthian columns with
a transverse beam decorated with triglyph, is bordered with a Hellenistic
meandre. A concave recess contains the names of the deceased. The
classicizing tomb at the end of row 7-1 of the Winterberg
family was built in the decorative style of the end of World War
One. It is a massive medium-size tomb with three tombstones, decorated
with two bronze flower pots based on projecting pedestals, and with
a large bronze application and an ornamental superstructure with
a Hebrew inscription. In the neo-Renaissance style is the two-part
tombstone (11-15, 16-1) of the famous actor of the German Theatre
of Prague Gustav Löw who probably adjusted the name
of the famous Löwy family who is also buried here, to that
of the famous German family of actors. The actor's tombstone has
a relief plaque with an ornament and his portrait. The tall gravestone
consisting of two parts has pillars and capitals on the sides and
a bronze vase on top. The design of tombstone 12-1-8,9 of the Schmolka
family which was designed by architect Paul Albert Kopetzky in 1915
jumps ahead the creative concepts of the 20s. The tombstone set
on an oblong pedestal consists of a high triangle with surfaces
spreading from the top and ending at the pentahedral recess with
a plaque with names of the deceased.
Tombstone 20-1-3 of the Bacher family is
another of architect Kopetzky's designs in the post-Art Nouveau
style dating from 1913. It consists of a pedestal-based travertine
unit which is broken in sculpted vertical parts. It contains two
circular medallions and names of the deceased. The superstructure
copies the ornamental motif of the stone railing. The famous artist
of Prague as well as Berlin Emil Orlik was apparently involved in
the design of the Orlik family's tombstone in lot 20-1-11
which dates from about 1914. It is affected by the late Art Nouveau
; the grave's railing is made of simple ashlar-shaped pillars with
a forged railing and ornamental flower pots with a relief ornament
of flowers. The tombstone's front pillars are profiled in a complex
method, and its recess contains a plaque with names of the deceased
with a bronze application of bands of flowers. The design by architect
Max Spielmann, the unique grave of the Epstein family (17-14-4)
was built in the classical style of the end of the second decade
of our century. It is a tall tombstone which consists of two marginal
and two central Doric columns with a simple transverse beam, and
with a triangular pediment above the central part.

SCULPTORS'
WORK
The most significant sculpted piece at the New
Jewish cemetery is the tombstone of artist Max Horb (19-1-13)
which was made by sculptor Jan Stursa. Sculptor Emanuel Kodet left
behind two pieces of work dating from 1917 and 1918 ; grave 13-16
of Winternitz has a three-part tombstone set on a low folded
prismatoid pedestal ; its central part with a fine-cut semi-circle
is higher while the side lower parts end with a tall gable with
an open work on top, and slender pillars of a square ground plan,
with a simple geometrical decoration, in between individual parts.
The design is affected by the Mayan art - and the tombstone's homogeneous,
reflecting tendencies of the 20s. Tombstone 17-1-8,9 of Smolková
which is one year its junior holds a relief plaque of the deceased
woman, designed by Kodet. The three-part tombstone also reminds
of the preceding grave - its central part is set on a profiled pedestal
which bears pedestals consisting of double pillars that support
a profiled frieze. There are similar pillar structures on the sides.
Singer's three-part tombstone (13-16) dating
from 1918 is an average work. Nevertheless it holds a life-size
portrait plaque of the prematurely deceased girl by the excellent
sculptor C. Vosmik. A bronze plaque of a girl designed by the same
sculptor decorates the otherwise austere tombstone of Salus
(17-8-1) which dates from 1923. Another piece of artwork - a distinct
oblong bronze relief with a falling swan wrought by A.. Stolba in
1918 decorates grave 17-1~-9 of Nohelova. On the sides, the
tombstone has tall pillars with an obliquely projecting ledge, and
the high curb stone contains a hole with a bronze door decorated
with a relief with birds and a vegetable motif. The tombstone's
dominating and mutually interconnected elements make an excellent
architectural composition.
Architect K. Jara designed grave 20-14-2 of the
Kalman - Blum families in about 1915 as a period decorated
tombstone on a three-step pedestal. The low and thick gravestone
holds the dates of the deceased, and a bronze emblem ending with
an ornamental profile. It is surrounded with a low railing which
is bronze in the front. Tombstone 20-14-2 of Teller dating
from 1918 is connected with the Jewish weltanschauung. In front
of the rear oblong part with wide edges and the dominating Tablets
of the Law in the middle, there is a lower smooth part with oblong
open edges and dates of the deceased. (The element of the Tablets
of the Law can be seen more that once at the cemetery.)
Cubism left its traces on the tombstone of Marta
Weiner (19-10-31), sister of poet Richard Weiner, who died
in 1918. It was designed by sculptor Vaclav Vokalek (1891-1978).
The tall and slender stela holds a sculpted relief of a stylized
tree from which a star is rising. The tombstone's foot bears a musical
motif inscribed in the musical score.
Architect P. A. Kopetzky's cemetery artwork culminates
with two beautiful structures - the last tombstone in row 17-14
of Leipen dating from 1921, and tombstone 29-1-3,4 of Freund
which dates from 1930.
Grave 14-1 of Koserak is an original tombstone
designed in a spirit of the decorative style of the 20s. It is a
flat conical gravestone with a segmental ending with a ledge shaped
as opening volutes, and on top, with a medallion with a relief of
grapes - the symbol of the tribe of Israel.
Grave 14-13-7 of the Bergmann family dates
from 1927. With its basic Art Nouveau element it is not typical
of the time of its origin - it is a tombstone with elements of a
lily ; a stela from whose pedestal which looks like a flower pot
a slender vegetable shape is growing - it is finely cut and twisted
to the sides in the peak. The convex front tear-shaped surface holds
the names of the deceased. - The classicizing tendency in a spirit
of the 20s has the third grave from the end of row 18-14-18 of Wagner
which has an accomplished design and dates from 1923. Behind the
grave's high curb stone with two steps there are short pillars based
on high pedestals, that support a triangular pediment. The projecting
plaque in the recess bears the names of the deceased. The design
of tombstone 21-12-5 of the Eiseofner family dating from
1921 is an original one. The finely cut torso of a column is tied
with a smooth band bearing the dates of the deceased and two vegetable
bands, and the column supports a stone vase decorated with a Hellenistic
meander, also as an influence by the classical style. The same classicizing
style is that of grave 22-1-9 of the Hoffmann family which
dates from 1927. It is a simply profiled arch filled with a bronze
forged grating in front of which, on a pedestal, there is an oblong
plaque with the dates of the deceased. Another beautiful piece of
architecture made in 1936 is the Böhm family's tombstone
at the end of row 27-16. It consists of a profiled pedestal which
supports a slender pillar with the dates of the deceased, and with
a bronze relief of a dove flying towards the sun - a unique composition
at the cemetery. Purism of about 1930 is represented by architect
Lud. Hilger's design of twin-grave 29-9-6 of the Abeles family.
It is a regular oblong tombstone with two circular holes with a
simple bronze grating. The dividing prism supports a superstructure
with bordering rings and a six-point star, and the data on the deceased
on the right side. Distinctly religious elements are typical of
the classicizing design of grave 29-14-1 of the Wurm family
dating from 1928. The grave is surrounded with a bronze railing
with a door with menorahs, and a profiled pedestal supports a tombstone
shaped as the Tablets of Decalogue, with the bronze Star of David
on top. The style of the 20s is represented by the unique design
of grave 29-14-8 of Paulus . It is a pilaster tombstone which
has a beautiful sculpted relief of an exotic landscape in the recess.
A unique gravestone belongs to a deceased person without any Latin
Inscription in lot 30-14-15. It is a piece designed in a spirit
of modern architecture of the 20s - a tall granite tombstone with
a richly profiled central piece and a Hebrew inscription in the
recess. Grave 1-1-23 of the Haas family was designed in a
spirit of constructivism in 1931. The granite pedestal supports
three pillars which are round in the front, with a lintel that bears
a regular oblong ashlar with the data on the deceased. All the above
mentioned graves as well as those dating from the following decades
of the cemetery's existence testify to a high level of our community's
cemetery architecture and its artistic trends influenced by the
contemporary artistic development.
Tombstone 5-1-2 of Anna Pollak is a remarkable
example of an intimate design of the grave of the 40s. It has a
conical shape with beveled edges, which is divided by three horizontal
grooves as a symbol of crystal. The front wall holds the data on
the deceased woman and the Star of David in a pentahedral recess.
Architect L. Ehrmann who also restored the synagogue in Smichov
designed the unique tombstone of the head of Prague's Jewish Board
and member of parliament dr. L. Singer - the lot between
18-29, row 14, No. 1 - who died in 1931. At the head of the grave,
a pedestal holds by means of five strips a tall slender column with
a vegetable capital, while the frieze bears a continuous Hebrew
inscription which is encircled all around it. Another Hebrew text
which is almost as rich as that on the preceding tombstone is inscribed
on the classicizing gravestone of the Kohn family (30-5,
6-1) dating from the 30s. It is a large tomb with a prismatoid granite
tombstone which consists of two side low parts with the data on
the deceased, while its middle part is covered with a cut Hebrew
Inscription. The superstructure holds a sculpted sign of the Kohanim
tribe - the hands.
A
grave which is most frequently visited by foreigners is that of
writer Franz Kafka (21-14-21). It is a preserved monument
also for its artistic value. It was designed by architect L. Ehrmann.
It is shaped as a hexahedral truncated crystal with the data on
the deceased on the front face.
The opposite wall holds the preserved bronze plaque
commemorating Dr. Max Brod (1884-1968), saver of Kafka's
work and pioneer of Czech culture abroad. The plaque was installed
by Prague's Jewish community.
The past generation has left behind an artistic
aftermath which was recorded for preservationpurposes but never
described or assessed in terms of its artistic and historical values.
This is also how the first attempt at a list of monuments at the
New Jewish Cemetery should be viewed.
Since the dead were not always buried in new cemetery
lots chronologically but sometimes in the graves of their already
deceased relatives, we can often find a tombstone which dates from
a much later time than the particular lot. That is why this survey
of tombstones preserved as cultural monuments had to follow the
development of their architecture in terms of time, or their resemblance
in terms of style, not to describe the cemetery lots as they follow
one another. Nevertheless, the survey also follows the chronology
of burying in individual lots at the cemetery.
Franz
Kafka's grandmother was born Esther Porias. Franz
Kafka's family tree.


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