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We offer a wide selection of sightseeing tours, both for individuals and groups,
to major Central European cities of significant Jewish history. Besides the
below mentioned destinations, on request, we can arrange guided tours to other
towns and villages in the region as well. These following cities are the most
popular destinations for passengers to discover the hidden treasures of Jewish past
and present in this part of the world:
The first documentary evidence of Jewish life in Pressburg dates back to the
year 1251. Although Jews were expelled from the city several times in the Middle
Ages, Bratislava developed into one of the most important sites of Jewish learning
in Hungary. The most outstanding rabbi was Moshe Sofer Schreiber, known by the
name of his key book as Chatam Sofer. Rabbi Moshe Schreiber was the rabbi of
Bratislava from 1806. His famous yeshiva attracted some one hundred of students. He
was a decisive personality of his time with strong traditionalistic views. He
fought against all kinds of changes and reformist movements. His leadership
helped make Bratislava a spiritual center for Orthodox Jews, which had many important
yeshivas in the 19th century. In 1944-45 only a small fraction of 15 000 Jews
who had lived in the city survived the Holocaust. Nonetheless, Jewish life in
Bratislava did not come to a complete standstill. Today there is an active
synagogue for a community of approximately 500 Jews.
Hardly any other city has been adorned with words of praise to the extent Prague
has; it has often been called golden and incomparable. Resting on the sloping
banks of the Vltava River, the main artery of Bohemian waterways, Pragues
cobblestone streets are connected by arching and ancient stone bridges contrasting with
the cosmopolitan atmosphere of modern Prague. Jewish community life in Prague
has been continuous since the Middle Ages. The oldest synagogue of the city, the
Alteneuschul, built during the last quarter of the 13th century, bears witness
of the medieval Jewish community. Despite several periods of expulsion, an
autonomous intellectual life was flourishing in the Jewish Quarter in the Golden Age (
between the 16th and 18th century) of Prague's Jewry. Some of the legendary
Jewish personalities who lived in Prague are Rabbi Loew (the Maharal) and Rabbi
Avigdor Kara, a member of Pragues Beth Din, among other historians, scientists and
philosophers. Today, the Jewish quarter of the city is completely restored and is
indeed a fascinating discovery.
Vienna is remarkable. Its eminent role in European history, architecture, art
and music combine to embody the phrase "Old World Charm". The city, once home to
the Hapsburg Empire, claims Mozart, Schubert, Bruckner and Freud, whose lives and
accomplishments are documented and celebrated in Vienna. In European Jewish
history, too, the Jewry of the city played an immeasurable role, especially in the
cultural life in 19th century. In the Middle Ages, from the 10th century on, a
fluctuating Jewish presence in Austria is to be presumed. The first document
mentioning Jews in Vienna dates back to the late 12th century. After turbulent
centuries of expulsions and pogroms, the Patent of Tolerance (1782) by Emperor Joseph II
marked the starting point of a development that brought about the equality
of Jews. In modern times, too, the founder of Zionism, Theodore Herzl developed h
is ideas in and initiated his campaigns, from Vienna. Besides him, the activity
of many outstanding Jewish personalities (e.g. composer Karl
Goldmark, writer
Arthur Schnitzler, psychiatrist Sigmund Freud, etc.) bears witness of the Viennese
Jews to Austrian intellectual and scientific development. Discover the abundant
wealth of Jewish history of a bustling, elegant metropolis in the heart of Europe.
See the other programmes
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