High Synagogue
Kraków Monuments
A synagogue at Józefa Street 38 in Kazimierz, named for its prayer hall on the upper floor. To this day it is the tallest synagogue in Kraków and the only synagogue in Poland located on an upper floor. It was built in 1556-1563 by a wealthy merchant named Izrael, with the permission of King Sigismund II Augustus, on the edge of the "Jewish town", close to one of the city gates. The ground floor and cellars served commercial purposes. The Kraków synagogue has a counterpart in Prague, built in 1568, with the same name and appearance.
History
The High Synagogue stands at 38 Józefa Street in Kazimierz. It owes its name to the prayer hall on the upper floor. It is still the tallest synagogue in Kraków and the only synagogue in Poland located on an upper floor.
It was built in 1556-1563 by a wealthy merchant, Israel, known only by his first name, who obtained permission from King Sigismund II Augustus. It stood at the edge of the "Jewish town", near one of the gates, in a busy spot. The prayer hall was probably built above shops, with the ground floor and cellars used for trade. A similar synagogue with the same name and the same appearance was built in Prague in 1568.
In 1657, during the Swedish Deluge, the synagogue was vandalised. Afterwards it was renovated and richly furnished. Fragments of 17th-century wall paintings with inscriptions and bouquets in vases have survived to this day; they were uncovered and conserved in the 1960s. At the end of the 1880s the synagogue was joined to the neighbouring building, where further prayer halls were set up.
During the Second World War the Nazis destroyed the interior and its valuable furnishings, including the painted vault of the main hall and the bimah. In 1966 the building was handed over to the Historic Monuments Conservation Workshop. In 2005 the synagogue was opened to visitors, and the aron ha-kodesh in the main hall was restored. Outside hangs a plaque recalling that this was the site of the 16th-century High Synagogue, destroyed in 1939 by the German occupation authorities.
Did you know?
During the war the synagogue's large brass menorah was taken to Wawel, where it decorated the rooms used by Hans Frank. Thanks to this it survived the war.