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Prague's Jewish
Tourism Is Big Business

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FACTORY DIRECT RE
LAMI NAT U RN ITu

RUTH ROVNER SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

focal point in the Old Town
of Prague, the main plaza
is a lively and colorful sight.
eople sit at outdoor cafes,
while others stand talking and
watching the passing parade of
tourists and natives, young and
old, who all converge on this beau-
tiful plaza lined with distinctive
medieval-style buildings.
On the far side of the plaza, a
number of booths are set up, and
wares of all sorts are on display:
jewelry, ceramics, souvenirs, and
also the marionettes and puppets
so popular in this theater-loving
city.

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This bookstore also carries the

Ghetto of Prague in English,

French, Italian and Czech, as
well as a number of other books
on Jewish themes.
"Many people are interested
in books about Jewish Prague,"
said bookstore manager Peter
Halelka.
There's an obvious reason for
this interest. Prague has a
famed Jewish Quarter which is
a major attraction, drawing over
a million visitors a year.
And with the spirit of free en-
terprise now flourishing in this
former Communist bloc nation,

i.',..1m OONN & V. N Fifet

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,TheCitiETIO
of Pague,

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43041 W. 7 Mile • Northville

Osudy iidovske
rrahy Schicksale

Vdes jildischen Prags
The late of Jewish Pragu
Destinees de Prague
la juive 11 &stint- )

di Praga ebritica

Jewish books on display in a shop in Prague.

Several are especially distinc-
tive. They are male figures with
black costumes, black hats and
long beards. Clearly they are
meant to be Chasidic Jews, inge-
niously crafted to look vividly real.
The Chasidic marionettes were
just one example of a fact about
Prague that became evident dur-
ing my visit. In the capital of the
Czech Republic, things Jewish are
popular— and profitable, too. This
is a city creating its own form of
Jewish chic.
Jewelry stores display Stars of
David and chai pendants, often in
garnet, a favorite gemstone in
Prague. Antique stores carry sil-
ver and gold menorot or even more
unusual items, such as an antique
clock with Hebrew letters on its
face. In another store, I find a mir-
ror with a Star of David etched on
it, and also silver Israeli coins for
sale.
In bookstores, guide books
about Jewish Prague are promi-
nently displayed. One large book-
store near the Old Town has a
guidebook titled Jewish Prague in
its window. And inside the store,
I find out that it's available in sev-
en languages: Dutch, Hebrew,
Russian, Czech, Polish, French
and English.

an entire Jewish tourist indus-
try seems to have emerged be-
cause of the Jewish Quarter.
Shops in the Old Town have
window displays ofJudaica, in-
cluding embroidered kippot, sil-
ver Stars of David, carved
mezzuzot and more. And the
narrow street that leads to the
Jewish cemetery is like a giant
outdoor bazaar where stall after
stall sells memorabilia related
to the Jewish Quarter, from pic-
ture postcards to miniature
replicas of the Golem of Prague.
The high profile of the Jewish
quarter has led to entrepre-
neurship in varied ways. First,
there are the tickets and audio
tours and guidebooks sold for the
various Jewish sites that to-
gether make up what's known
as the Jewish Museum of
Prague.
And then there are the guid-
ed tours. Even though visitors
can tour the Jewish sites on
their own, most tour agencies in
the city also offer their own guid-
ed tours of this popular quarter.
Jewish tourism in Prague is
a booming business. In some cas-
es, tour agencies without any ex-
pertise have simply jumped on
the bandwagon by offering Jew-