The Famous Layered Jewish Cemetery in Prague

By Queuebot in Travel on Oct 14, 2009 at 3:39 am

There was a problem in the segregated Jewish ghetto of 15th century Prague: there were more people dying than there was land to bury them.

The solution? They were buried on top of one another. Here’s the unique story of the layered burial of the Old Jewish Cemetery in Prague, Czech Republic:

Over the centuries, there has been close to 12 layers of people buried within the confines of the Old Jewish cemetery. It has been estimated that there are approximately 12,000 tombstones presently visible and there may be as many as 100,000 burials in all.

Link

From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by lannaxe96.

Tags: burial, Jewish cemetery, Prague

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wit of a twit
Oct 14th, 2009 at 8:38 am
My grandfather in Portugal, was buried in the the same plot as both of his parents in law, and my grandmother says she will be buried there also. They don’t do it because there isn’t enough room though, they do it because they don’t have enough money.
lannaxe96
Oct 14th, 2009 at 8:40 am
I have heard that as well wit of twit. It’s amazing how often this was happening all over the country, and it still happens now.
Skipweasel
Oct 14th, 2009 at 9:37 am
You also get cemetaries with no one in them. The one in Madeley, Shropshire, has plenty of tombstones, but most of the actual bodies are down at the bottom of the hill. Up top, where the church is, the ground isn’t suitable but people wanted to be “buried” in the shadow of the church.
Gauldar
Oct 14th, 2009 at 9:42 am
My dad’s ashes was burried with his grandfather’s, sort of like a family plot I guess. I’d probably do the same, I don’t like how we humans take up so much unessesary space with our dead meat.
ByrdBrain
Oct 14th, 2009 at 10:37 am
I know, Jordans are so 1980′s and should be buried, too, dude. Thanks.
Jake
Oct 14th, 2009 at 12:27 pm
this is a photo i took of what i think is the same cemetery in Prague.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/paulellinson/3209736575/

i remember this one being very tightly packed in, but also half destroyed with the building of the Žižkov Television Tower
Renata
Oct 15th, 2009 at 2:33 am
…hmmm (Jake) Zizkov and Jewish cementery in Old City are maybe 5 miles from each other…it must be different one. There is plenty of cementeries around city.

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