On the site of the oldest Prague Jewish house of prayer called the "Old School", the Spanish synagogue was built in 1868 in Moorish style by Vojtěch Ignác Ullmann and Josef Niklas. From 1836 to 1845 František Škroup, composer of the Czech national anthem, worked as the organist at the Old School. It was built in 1867 - 1868 on the corner of the Dušní and Vězeňská Streets in a Moorish style according to a project of Ignatz Ullmann and Josef Niklas in place of the oldest synagogue called Old School (Stará škola) or also Templ, which, according to the preserved reports, already existed in the 12th century. Synagogues originally served as schools for general education of both the youth and the adult members of the Jewish community. When Isabella of Castile expelled the Jews from Spain at the end of the 15th century, one of their groups found home in Prague. They were given this Old School as the house of prayers, and since then the building has also been called the Spanish Synagogue. When the old building failed to be sufficient in capacity, a new building was erected, very well equipped on a technical side for the time.The construction was managed by Quido Bělský. A new-Renaissance building with a square ground plan has a mighty dome above the central premises. Remarkable and spectacular interior decorations imitating Spanish interiors in Alhambra were designed by architects Antonín Baum and Bedřich Münzberger. In a spirit of religious traditions, the interior decorations are only ornamental; the surface is covered by low stucco arabesque