The Prague Jewish Museum has announced that it will soon be revamping and modernizing its permanent exhibits, which are housed in historic synagogues in the city’s old Jewish quarter, Josefov.
The first will be that housed in the 16th century Meisel Synagogue, which shows the history of Jews in Bohemia and Moravia from the 10th to the 18th century. The work will be the first overhaul of the exhibit since it was installed 19 years ago. Alternations to the building will also be undertaken.
For this reason, the Meisel Synagogue will be closed to visitors from March 29, 2014 until the middle of 2015.
The museum states that in overhauling the exhibits it
aims to better reflect current trends in museum presentations, to make full use of technical possibilities and to meet visitor expectations. The aim is not only to make its exhibitions more attractive by incorporating interactive and educational elements, but also to place the museum tour in the real context of the historical Jewish Quarter (Josefov) and to emphasize the genius loci of Prague’s Jewish Town. In this way, visitors will gain a deeper and more personal experience by visiting sites that are themselves exhibits.
The new exhibit at the Meisels synagogue will include “a wealth of rare collection objects” displayed in a new layout and context, as well as an audio-visual 2D virtual tour of Prague’s Jewish Town, and there will be more possibilities for cultural events.
Touch screens will enable visitors to look through old Hebrew manuscripts and to view historical maps of Jewish settlements. Visitors will also be able to search the museum’s database for information about prominent Jewish figures. In the evening hours, the exhibition area will be transformed into an auditorium and used as a venue for concerts, recitals and solo theatre performances.
See announcement on the Museum’s web site