The Jews obeyed and immediately set to work. They dug up the hillock from the top and carried the soil down to the foot of the hill. As soon as they uncovered the top of the hill, they came across the tip of a roof. This gave them the strength to continue their work, and within a few days they had excavated the entire Old-New Synagogue in the form in which it has been preserved to this day. Allegedly, they did not want to continue digging out of sheer joy, and so the synagogue stands partially buried in the ground. The name of the synagogue — old, yet new — is said to derive from the story of its rediscovery. Another legend recounts that the Old-New Synagogue was brought to the Prague’s Jews by angels from their original homeland, Palestine. However, the angels gave strict orders that nothing about its appearance should ever be changed. Whenever the Jews attempted to modify the structure in some way, something unfortunate happened that deterred them from their intention. That is why the exterior and interior of the synagogue have remained unchanged for centuries. Based on the book 77 pražských legend by Alena Ježková (77 Prague Legends).