Hagibor, the concentration camp near Kafka's grave

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After the adoption of the December Constitution (1867), a new civil society was established in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. This civil society brought a number of rights relating to personal, religious, and assembly freedom. For the first time in modern Czech history, Jews had the same rights as their fellow citizens.

In the spring of 1888, the leadership of the Prague Jewish community realized the growing community would need better facilities for health services. The "Israeli Hospital in Žižkov", designed by architect Viktor Kafka and built by Antonín Schlosser, opened on May 11, 1911. The hospital grounds included a large garden. The hospital, and later the old-age home at this facility, was paid for by private donations.

Plans to build a larger hospital complex on the surrounding land were canceled due to World War I; the plots were rented to the Hagibor Physical Education Sports Club (in Hebrew, Hagibor means hero). The club, founded in 1914, brought together Jewish athletes from many disciplines. In 1926, a football field and athletics track was built.

In the 1950s, the whole Hagibor complex was confiscated and became the property of the state. After the fall of communism, the Jewish community tried to reclaim its former property. In the case of the old-age building, this effort was successful—the original building is still standing in the same place, now the Hagibor Social Care Facility. It is not open to the public.


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