The Golem of Prague

Clay given instructions and life. The attic of the Old New Synagogue stayed locked for centuries — and was checked.

The Golem of Prague: clay servant animated by Rabbi Judah Loew (d. 1609) to defend the ghetto, deactivated and stored in the Old-New Synagogue's attic. Documented: Loew is historical; the golem story attaches to him only in 19th-century collections (the famous 'sources' include an admitted 1909 literary forgery, Rosenberg's 'Nifla'ot Maharal'). The attic was famously examined (reporters, 1984 renovation) — no golem. On this map as the ancestor of every 'the asset is stored in a restricted room' claim, and a documented case of a legend acquiring a false medieval pedigree.