The redevelopment laws (Asanační zákony) were adopted on 11 February 1893 and remained in force until April 1943.[1] Under them the Prague redevelopment took place, in which almost 470 houses and a large part of the Jewish Town, including three synagogues, disappeared. New houses were built on part of the cleared site, as was Pařížská Street.[1]
The Klub Za starou Prahu regards the poor building and sanitary condition of Josefov and its location near Old Town Square as the initial motives for the redevelopment. As early as 1883 the council of municipal elders pushed through the establishment of a commission to deal with sanitary conditions in Josefov.[2] According to the Klub's interpretation, the exceptional location of Josefov by Old Town Square was at the time perceived mainly from the point of view of the city's representation, not of building enterprise. [2] In 1887 the magazine Zlatá Praha still described Josefov as the most neglected corner, which supposedly nobody needs to look for in Istanbul because it lies in the middle of the capital. [2]