New Jewish Cemetery

The New Jewish Cemetery is considered to be a cultural monument in Prague due to its history, its elaborate monuments and tombs and the vital role it plays for the Jewish community of the city. Built in order to solve the problem of the lack of space in the Old Jewish Cemetery, it can house approximately 100,000 graves. This cemetery is one of the most popular (morbidly so) places of burial in the world possibly because Franz Kafka is buried right here. In order to discover Kafka’s grave, an architectural marvel designed by L. Ehrmann, one needs to walk along the main thoroughfare and then immediately turn right followed by left at the fence. His grave is right at the end of the block and it is pretty difficult to miss given its extraordinary shape and the fact that he is identified as ‘Dr.’ Franz Kafka. His many worshippers tend to embark on a pilgrimage of sorts on his death anniversary, the 3rd of June.

The entrance to the cemetery is free and it is adjacent to the Želivského metro station. During the summer months, it is open from 9 am till 5 pm from Sunday to Thursday. On Friday, it is open till 2 pm. During winters, it shuts at 4 pm from Sunday to Thursday. Males absolutely need to cover their heads and can ask for yarmulkes/kippahs at the gate.