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The Golem of Prague is ever-present - from postcards to souvenirs to books, you can't avoid the creature in the city. But what exactly is a golem anyway? The original word “golem” has Jewish origins, meaning an “animated being created entirely from inanimate matter.” Though legends of golems exist from long before Prague was settled, such as in ancient Jewish folklore, our favourite animated being is a relatively modern creation, created by a Rabbi named Yehudah Levi ben Betzalel (or Loew in some sources) of Prague, known as "the Maharal."
According to legend, the Maharal created his Golem from the mud of the river Vltava to help save the Jews of Prague from the malicious accusations of blood libel, or the belief that Jews used the blood of a Christian child during Passover. Dead or murdered Christian children would often be planted in Jewish houses for priests to “discover” and incite the masses to their pickaxes and torches, as the masses liked to do.
After the Golem had put a stop to these harmful murderous rampages through the Jewish neighborhoods, the Maharal deanimated him and locked his body in the attic of Prague's Old-New Synagogue. To keep him safe, the Maharal enacted a ban on anyone entering the attic of the Old-New Synagogue, and it is widely believed that the body of Prague’s Golem rests there to this day. During the Second World War, the Old-New Synagogue miraculously survived the destruction of synagogues by the Nazis, and even the Gestapo did not enter its attic.
Besides the playful art featuring Prague’s Golem by Fun Explosive adorning postcards and posters for sale at all the tourist spots, a statue of the Golem of Prague stands at the entrance to the city's Jewish sector, reminding locals and visitors alike that Prague is indeed a city of Golem. And because no legend is real without merchandising, behind the New Old Synagogue postcards, T-shirts, and miniature Golems of Prague are sold to all. | | | |