For more than 300 years this place was used as a cemetery, but in 1787 it was closed to use. It is surrounded by trees and the graves are very crowded, possibly even too crowded. Though the area was expanded more than a few times, the number of deaths gets larger than the available land. Today there are 12 layers of graves here.
The atmosphere here is special and mysterious, mainly it sends a shudder down your spine. Many see this cementery as the symbol for the destruction of the Jewish community in Prague during the Holocaust. It is one of the most important and preserved historical sites in the Jewish Quarter of Prague.
Another grave that has become a popular spot (the candles lit all around here will testify to its popularity) is the grave of the Jewish Mahal of Prague, Rabbi Yehuda ben Bezalel Loew. He was an important rabbi and spiritual leader, teacher, and guide, and his name is involved with many stories and legends. The most famous of these stories is the story of the golem of Prague. Many visitors come here to ask for forgiveness, and blessings.
The tombstone that looks the best in this cementery is that of a women named Hendl Bassevi. Though it is very ancient (since 1628), it has been nicely preserved and has stayed whole, at its head is the sculpture of a lion.
One night, the rabbi heard a voice telling him, "make a human figure from clay and through it you will succeed in thwarting the plots of your enemies."
And so the rabbi did. He summoned his son-in-law and his best student and updated them with the vision he had experienced. They formed the Golem in seven days. In the Jewish year 5340, the three scholars went to the banks of the Holtba River and formed a human figure three cubits high from the clay. After they finished, the rabbi's son-in-law turned around the figure as he recited a Kabalistic prayer. After doing this several times, the Golem opened his eyes and came to life. The rabbi turned to him and said: "We have created you from the dust of the earth to protect the Israelites from their enemies and to prevent them from their sorrows and suffering." The figure received the name Yosef and he became a servant in the rabbi's court.
For most of the day the Golem was sitting in the corner of the study room, a bit like a fly on the wall. In order not to attract too much attention, the rabbi put a talisman around his neck that made him invisible. During the week leading up to Passover, the Golem began his mission - he walked around the city and checked every person who entered the quarter with packages. Quite a few times, he found a dead baby in them, which was supposed to serve as proof of the false plots against the Jews. The Golem served the members of the Jewish community in Prague.
He did so until the Jews finally arrived at the longed-for day, when it was widely declared that the plots were baseless and that persecution of future Jews was prohibited. At this point the rabbi decided to take back Yosef's life. They performed the ritual again and the Golem was once again a lifeless mass of clay. They placed it under a pile of books in the attic of the Alt-Noy Synagogue in Prague.