Jewish people first came to Prague in the 10th century. In the 16 and 17th century, when Jews were forbidden to live with Christians by the Catholic Pope, one of the largest European Jewish ghettos was created in the city. Rules were relaxed in the 1780's and the Prague Jewish population numbered 50,000 until WW2 when the majority were killed. Hitler elected not to destroy the Jewish area of the city (unlike the destruction which occurred in the rest of Europe) because he wanted to make this part of the city a memorial of the "extinct" race. A temple to honor what accomplished in the world. The logic of this is horrible, however, as a result of his ego, the city contains several original and old Jewish synagogues and memorabilia. It was all very interesting to see.