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Pinkas Synagogue, the second oldest site in the Prague ghetto, was originally a private house of prayer for the prominent Horowitz family. Today, the synagogue’s importance lies in its role as a memorial to the 80,000 victims of the Holocaust from Bohemia and Moravia, whose names are hand-painted on the walls. (...)

Pinkas Synagogue, the second oldest site in the Prague ghetto, was originally a private house of prayer for the prominent Horowitz family. Today, the synagogue’s importance lies in its role as a memorial to the 80,000 victims of the Holocaust from Bohemia and Moravia, whose names are hand-painted on the walls. The text of the inscriptions was compiled from sources such as extant transport papers and registration lists. Pinkas Synagogue is also the home of an exhibition of children’s drawings from Terezin concentration camp, intensifying the commemorative atmosphere.

Having been closed for several decades due to its poor condition, Pinkas Synagogue was reopened to the public following the completion of renovation work carried out after the collapse of the Communist regime. Floods in August 2002 forced the administration of the synagogue to close it once again. The basement and ground floor of the main hall of Pinkas Synagogue were greatly affected. About a quarter of the painted names of the Holocaust victims suffered extensive damage.