Michle Synagogue in Prague

The Michle Synagogue in Prague stands in the quiet, now heavily built-up district of Michle, on the bank of the Botič stream, at U Michelského mlýna 27. It's the kind of place that's easy to walk past without realizing it holds over two centuries of local Jewish history.

Where exactly is the synagogue located?

The building sits in Prague 4, in the Michle district, close to the course of the Botič, a small stream that once shaped the industrial backdrop of this part of the city. The address, U Michelského mlýna, refers to a former mill that gave the surrounding area its name.

How did the synagogue come to exist?

The building's history is more layered than it first appears. It didn't start out as a place of worship at all — its origins trace back to an older utility building, quite possibly connected with winemaking, most likely built in the first half of the 18th century in a Renaissance style. Over time it was reworked, first in a Baroque manner and later with Neo-Gothic touches, before eventually being adapted for religious use.

The origins of the Michle Jewish community itself remain somewhat unclear. Some accounts suggest a community may have existed here as early as the late 18th century, though no firm documentation pins down exactly when the building took on its role as a synagogue.

What happened to it during the war?

The synagogue served the local community right up until the Nazi occupation of the Czech lands, when religious life here was abruptly cut short. Almost no member of the Michle Jewish community survived the war — one of many small, provincial Jewish communities in occupied Czechoslovakia that were effectively wiped out.

What became of the building after the war?

After the war, the abandoned building passed into the care of the Jewish Museum in Prague. In the early 1950s, the museum used it as a storage depot, holding around 1,200 Torah scrolls gathered from across the country — a lesser-known but significant chapter in the postwar effort to preserve Czech Jewish heritage after the Holocaust.

What is the synagogue used for today?

Over the following decades the building fell into disrepair. In 1975, in a fairly dilapidated state, it was taken over by the Albert Schweitzer congregation of the Czechoslovak Hussite Church. The congregation restored the building and has used it ever since as its house of worship — so the former synagogue retains a religious function today, just under a different faith community.

Frequently asked questions

Is the Michle synagogue open to visitors today? The building serves as the prayer house of a Czechoslovak Hussite Church congregation, so it isn't a typical tourist attraction with regular visiting hours — worth keeping in mind if you're planning a stop here.

Was it originally built as a religious building? No. It started out as a utility building, likely connected with winemaking, and was only later adapted to serve as a synagogue.

What was stored here after the war? In the early 1950s, the Jewish Museum in Prague set up a depot in the building holding roughly 1,200 Torah scrolls.

Who uses the building now? Since 1975 it has belonged to the Albert Schweitzer congregation of the Czechoslovak Hussite Church, which restored it and uses it for religious services.