syn/europe/poland/4/Q-Z

The Synagogues of Europe
PAST AND PRESENT
Poland Q to Z

L TO P

Q TO Z

Below you will find a series of postcards that depict various synagogues that currently or once stood in Europe. Most of these photographs have been purchased, taken, or otherwise obtained by those visiting these towns and cities, and they have been subsequently submitted to the Museum to be placed online. Some of these synagogues might still be extant, i.e. still being used as synagogues, but others lay abandoned and perhaps in a state of disrepair, or are currently being used for other purposes. Some have been restored.

Current town names are used to indicate the location of each synagogue.

The Museum welcomes further submissions, as this exhibition is forever ongoing and evolving. Please include the name of the country, town/city, synagogue (if known), and the month and year the photo was taken.

Please click on the thumbnail photos to see the enlarged versions.

AUSTRIA	BELARUS	BELGIUM	BOSNIA- HERZEGOVINA	BULGARIA
CROATIA	CZECH REPUBLIC	DENMARK	ESTONIA	FINLAND
FRANCE	GERMANY	GREAT BRITAIN	GREECE	HUNGARY
ITALY	LATVIA	LITHUANIA	MOLDOVA	NETHERLANDS
NORWAY	POLAND	PORTUGAL	ROMANIA	RUSSIA
SERBIA	SLOVAKIA	SLOVENIA	SPAIN	SWEDEN
SWITZERLAND	TURKEY	UKRAINE

POLAND
	Radomyśl Wielki, Poland (1930) ^PC
	Rajgród, Poland (1930) ^PC Wooden synagogue.
	ROPCZYCE, Poland (1939) ^PC
	Różan, Poland (1930?) ^PC
	RYKI, POLAND (1916) ^PC Wooden synagogue.
	Rzeszów, Poland Old Town Synagogue Photos courtesy of Shmuel ben Eliezer. Plaque inscription, right: "The Old Town Synagogue...built in the 16th-17th centuries, burned in 1944, reconstructed in the years 1958-1968. Now the public archive."
	Rzeszów, Poland New Town Synagogue 18 Jana III Sobieskiego Photos courtesy of Shmuel ben Eliezer.
	Rzochów, Poland (1930) ^PC
	SANDOMIERZ, POLAND The old synagogue, currently the Government Archives. from www.ozarow.org .
	SEJNY, POLAND Sejny or White Synagogue From Wikipedia: "The large, Neo[baroque style building on Pilsudskiego Street was erected in the 1860's, replacing an older building. It was used by the Nazis as a fire station, the interior was gutted and all furnishings were destroyed. It was restored - with a plain, modern interior - in 1987 and now serves as a cultural center, theater and museum."
	Słupsk, POLAND Was Stolp, Germany before World War II. From Wikipedia, which states "It was built in 1901-1902, designed by Eduard Koch. The synagogue was set on fire by Nazis during the Kristallnacht on 9–10 November 1938."
	SNIADOWO, POLAND (1913) The wooden synagogue of Sniadowo was built in 1768. It consisted of a main hall with an octagonal vault roof supported by four pillars, flanked by two-story corner pavilions with pyramidal roofs. While the town likely had prayer houses as well, everyone probably attended the main synagogue for the holidays. The synagogue pictured above was destroyed by fire during World War I. Shortly after 1919, another wooden synagogue was built. During World War II, the house was acquired by the Catholic church and removed to the nearby town of Szumowo, where it still stands today. Photo, bottom left dated 1910; photo, right dated 1913. ^PC
	Sokoły, Poland (1915) ^PC Wooden synagogue.
	STAWISKI, POLAND (bef 1942) The Stawiski synagogue dates back to 1739. It was renovated in 1858 and was destroyed by the Germans in 1942.
	SUCHOWOLA, POLAND (1930) ^PC Wooden synagogue.
	Suwałki, Poland (1942) ^PC
	SZCZEBRZESZYN, POLAND The synagogue now serves as a local cultural house.
	SZCZEKOCINY, POLAND The synagogue is now being used as a restaurant. Please read about the synagogue and cemetery in Szczekociny by visiting its page within the "Preserving Jewish Heritage" exhibition.
	Szydłów, Poland (2006) From Wikipedia: "Szydłów Synagogue was an Orthodox Judaisim synagogue... It was built in 1534-1564 as a Fortress synagogue with heavybuttresses on all sides. The synagogue was devastated by Nazis during world War II.. During the war it served as a weapons and food magazine. After the war it briefly served as a village cinema to be eventually abandoned. The building was renovated in the 1960s for use as a library and cultural center. The women's gallery served as a town library while the main floor was a cultural center. In 1995 the library was closed due to budget cuts and the building stood in need of repair, especially to the roof which was leaking.The renovation altered the building's exterior appearance, but the interior was preserved intact. The original, built-in, masonry Torah Ark is particularly notable."
	Tarnogród, Poland The former synagogue is now used as a library and museum. Front and rear views. Courtesy of Shmuel ben Eliezer.
	Tarnów, POLAND Old Synagogue The only remnant of the old synagogue is the bimah. Courtesy of Shmuel ben Eliezer.
	Tarnów, POLAND New Synagogue Germans burned down most of Tarnów's synagogues on 9 Sep 1939, one day after their occupation had begun.
	TELAKI, POLAND (1914) ^PC Wooden synagogue.
	TYKOCIN, POLAND The Tykocin synagogue was built in 1642 and restored between 1974 and 1978. The synagogue now houses a museum.
	TYKOCIN, POLAND (cir 1995-6) ^PC Wooden synagogue.
	WARSZAWA, POLAND (cir 1900) The Great Synagogue The Great Synagogue of Warsaw was built by the its Jewish community between 1875 and 1878 at Tłomackie street. The Germans destroyed this building in May 1943 after the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. photo, right cir 1915.
	WARSZAWA, POLAND Nozyk Synagogue Nozyk Synagogue is the only synagogue that survived the ravages of World War II. The synagogue was originally founded by Zalman and Rywka Nozyk in 1900. Though it survived the bombs that fell over Warszawa, the Nozyk Synagogue was damaged by the Nazis, who used the synagogue as a stable. Nozyk Synagogue also suffered damage during and after the Ghetto Uprising. It was somewhat repaired immediately after the war had ended, though its full restoration was completed in 1983.One can still attend Services there daily.
	Wasilków, Poland (1930) ^PC Two wooden synagogues.
	Wielkie Oczy, Poland Photos courtesy of Shmuel ben Eliezer.
	Włodawa, POLAND (2008) The beautifully decorated alter of the former Jewish synagogue that now houses the Museum of Leczynsko-Wlodawski Lake District - a museum dedicated to the preservation of the history of the area's former burgeoning Jewish population, as well as the history of the nearby Sobibor Nazi Death Camp. Photos from Wikipedia.
	WrZESNIA, Poland "...God, the heathen came to your heritage, defiled thy holy temple." Ps. 79.1. "Here stood the synagogue my favorite Nazis blew up in 1943. In memory of the Jews, September inhabitants, victims of destruction."
	Wrocław, Poland New Synagogue Was Breslau, Germany before WWII. Plan for synagogue pictured left. From Wikipedia. "The New Synagogue was the largest synagogue in Breslau, Germany.. It was one of the largest synagogues in the German Empire and a centre of Liberal Judaism in Breslau. It was built in 1865-1872, and designed by Edwin Oppler. It was burnt down during the Kristallnacht pogrom which swept across Nazi Germany on 9-10 November 1938."
	Wrocław, Poland Photos courtesy of Shmuel ben Eliezer.
	WYSZOKIE MAZOWIECKIE, POLAND The synagogue in Wysokie Mazowieckie dates back to 1772. It was taken apart cir 1874 due its bad technical shape. Wooden synagogues. Rt. photo dated 1925. ^PC
	Wyszków, POLAND When the Germans invaded Wyszków in 1939, they rounded up about 100 Jews, forced them into the synagogue and then burned down the building.
	Zabłudów, Poland ^PC Wooden synagogue. Photo top left dated 1889; middle left dated 1930-5, bottom left dated 1920. Was built in 1649. Burned down by Nazis in 1941. The wooden synagogue was burned down by German Military Police Battalion 301, 1st Company, 2nd Platoon, 1st Squad. Photos right dated 1919.
	Zambrów, POLAND
	Zamość, POLAND (2008) Sephardic Synagogue 9-11 Zamenhofa Street Built between 1610 and 1618, this synagogue was turned into a carpenters' workshop during World War II. It was recently returned to the Jewish community in Poland and renovated. It is used today as a museum.
	ZAWIERCIE, POLAND (2008) faces Marszalkowska Street from Wikipedia. Author: Leszek Mazczyk

*--Photo edited in 2002 by Wydawnictwo Mazowieckie, Przasnysz and prepared by Mariusz Bondarczuk and Artur K.F. Wolosz.

^{PC - from} ^{private
collection.}