Tombstone, Old Jewish Cemetery, Prague, Czech Republic
Detail of the tomb of Jehuda Liva Ben Becalel or Rabbi Low, 1609, with a rearing lion carved within an elliptical garland, in the Old Jewish Cemetery, in the Josefov or Jewish Quarter of Prague, Czech Republic. The original cemetery was called The Jewish Garden and was excavated under the Vladislavova street, New Town. Because Jewish graves cannot be moved, when the cemetery became full, more earth was put on top and the tombstones shuffled up, until there were 12 layers of tombs and approximately 12, 000 tombstones presently visible, although there may be as many as 100, 000 burials in all. Others buried here include Mordechai Maisel (d. 1601), David Gans (d. 1613) and David Oppenheim (d. 1736). The historic centre of Prague was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992. Picture by Manuel Cohen
