Old Town Synagogue (Rzeszów)
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The Old Town Synagogue (also known as the Old School , Old Synagogue and Small Synagogue ) is a secular synagogue in Rzeszów , the capital of the Polish Subcarpathian Voivodeship . It dates from the early 17th century. The Neustadt synagogue was built around 100 years later in the immediate vicinity and within sight .
history
It was most likely built in 1610; It was first mentioned in 1617. It was on the edge, but outside the fortifications of the old town and, with its thick walls, was part of the city's defense system. During the wars in the second half of the 17th century and in the early 18th century, which devastated large parts of Poland-Lithuania , Rzeszów and with it the synagogue were burned down several times. Only the outer walls were preserved, which means that the original roof shape (and also some later ones) are not known.
After a fire in 1842 and additionally in 1891, renovations were carried out repeatedly.
After the German occupation of Poland in World War II , the interior was devastated in 1942 and the building was infected. Due to the damage, the roof collapsed in 1947. In 1949 the authorities decided to renovate the ruins and then use them as a state archive. This happened from 1953 to 1956. Only the outer walls were preserved. The supporting bima was torn down and a second floor and another floor under the roof were moved.
Today (2019) the building belongs to the Jewish Faith Community in Krakow and is leased to the state archive. It also houses the Center for Research into Jewish History .
architecture
Originally, probably only the men's prayer room was built as a cubic main building. The thick stone walls were reinforced on the outside by massive pillars. The largest of these was in the northwest and had a spiral staircase inside that led up under the roof and down to a prison cell.
The internal dimensions were 14.90 × 12.80 m with a maximum height of the vault of 10.80 m. A supporting bima (a tower with a square floor plan that reached up to the ceiling) had the 60 cm high podium of the bima in its center .
Inside, the walls were divided into three horizontal zones. The arched windows (two in the west and two in the east and two pairs in the south and two in the north) are in the upper zone.
Over time, a lower vestibule and prayer rooms for the women in the west and south were added. This also partially covered the windows.
An original stone Torah shrine was destroyed by one of the fires (probably in 1739) and replaced by an intricately carved wooden one. High and narrow, it consisted of four floors, each of which became even narrower towards the top and was framed on the sides by columns and decorations. The shrine was destroyed in the devastation in 1942.
Source
- ↑ Maria and Kazimierz Piechotka: Heaven's Gates. Masonry synagogues in the territories of the former Polish - Lithuania Commonwealth. Pages 206-211. Polish Institute of World Art Studies & POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews, Warsaw 2017, ISBN 978-83-942344-3-0 . Detailed description.
Web links
Coordinates: 50 ° 2 ′ 17 ″ N , 22 ° 0 ′ 26 ″ E