Old Synagogue
Kraków Monuments
One of the oldest surviving synagogues in Poland and one of the most valuable monuments of Jewish sacred architecture in Europe, at Szeroka Street 24 in Kazimierz. Until 1939 it was the central synagogue of the Kraków Jewish community, its main religious, cultural, social and organisational centre. It was probably built in the second half of the 15th century by Czech Jews; it is now thought to date from the turn of the 15th and 16th centuries. After the fire of 1557 it was rebuilt by the Florentine architect Matteo Gucci, who gave it a Renaissance character while keeping its two-nave plan.
History
The Old Synagogue at Szeroka Street 24 is one of the oldest surviving synagogues in Poland and, on a European scale, one of the most precious monuments of Jewish religious architecture. Until 1939 it served as the main synagogue of Kraków's Jewish community and as its religious, cultural, social and organisational centre.
Its builders are thought to have been Czech Jews who settled in Kraków after the Prague pogrom of 1389. The construction itself probably dates from the second half of the 15th century. The literature usually gives the dates 1407 and 1492, and today it is accepted that the synagogue was built at the turn of the 15th and 16th centuries. It was a Gothic two-aisled hall for men, and its eastern wall rested against the city's defensive walls. At the time only three other such two-aisled synagogues were known in Europe: in Worms, Regensburg and Prague.
In 1557 a great fire consumed the whole building. It was rebuilt by the Florentine architect Matteo Gucci. He gave it a Renaissance character but kept the two-aisled plan and recreated the rib vault, raised the walls to their present height and crowned them with an arcaded attic with pinnacles. The work lasted until 1570.
Tadeusz Kościuszko spoke in the synagogue, calling on the Jews to fight for the freedom of the homeland. Between 1904 and 1925, with interruptions, the building was renovated to plans by Zygmunt Hendel, which added neo-Renaissance details. During the Second World War the Nazis devastated it completely: they carried off the liturgical furnishings gathered over centuries, destroyed the vault and the bimah, and turned the main hall into warehouses. After the war it was a ruin. It was restored from 1956 and handed over for museum use in 1958.
Today it houses a branch of the Museum of Kraków - the Judaica Museum, which since 1958 has collected objects connected with the history and culture of the Jews, above all those of Kraków. In 1970-1972 wide terraced steps were built by the synagogue, and every year they host the main concert of the Jewish Culture Festival.
Did you know?
According to legend, King Casimir the Great gave the Jews of Kazimierz permission to build the synagogue and gave them two silver swords, which were to be melted down to make candlesticks. The legend says that the Jews, wishing to show the king their respect, hung them in the synagogue's vestibule instead.