Obj. ID: 25162
Architecture Front (Old) Synagogue in Třebíč, Czech Republic
The synagogue was built between 1639 and 1642 in the Baroque style. Following an order from the owner of the town, von Waldstein, it was likely lowered to the height of the surrounding houses in 1757. Due to several fires and the needs of the growing Jewish community, the synagogue underwent reconstructions in 1759, 1821, 1856–1857, 1880, and 1922. During the rebuilding after a fire between 1856 and 1857, Neo-Gothic elements were added to the building, and the main entrance was likely moved to the western side. [Jaroslav Klenovský, Encyklopedie židovských památek Moravy a Slezska (Praha: Grada, 2018), p. 309-313]
The synagogue has a rectangular ground plan and is set into the surrounding terrain so that its northern side is slightly below the level of the sidewalk. The building consists of two floors: a ground floor and a first floor. The ground floor contains a prayer hall, with a vestibule located on the western side. The vestibule is separated from the prayer hall by a wall and glass-paneled wooden doors. Above the vestibule on the western side of the first floor, there is a women’s section. According to Klenovský, the building features a hip roof. [Klenovský, Encyklopedie, p. 313-314] The prayer hall is covered by a large trought vault.
Based on a plan from 1859, the Torah Ark was located on the eastern side of the building on a raised platform, which ended in a semi-circular wooden Bimah. According to Klenovský, the Bimah was located in the center of the main hall until 1859. The plan shows wooden benches arranged in rows facing the Torah Ark, extending even under the area of the women’s section, suggesting that the vestibule was created at a later date. [Klenovský, Encyklopedie, p. 314]
The women's section is supported by two stone columns forming three arches, which results in the vaulting being divided into three distinct vaulted bays separated by transverse arches. The three vaults are segmental. The section is separated from the prayer hall by two additional columns on the upper floor and wooden walls with glass panels. Roofed stairs leading to the women’s section are attached to the southern side of the synagogue.
According to a report on the state of the synagogue from 1953: the building was in a desolate condition and was considered a potential safety risk. [Ústřední archiv a muzeum CČSH, f. Ústřední rada CČSH, sign. Složky náboženských obcí – Třebíč; Zápis o závěrečném jednání ohledně koupě a adaptace synagogy v Třebíči, které bylo svoláno ONV v Třebíči na sobotu dne 30. Května 1953 na 8 hod.-dopoledne do budovy ONV v Třebíči, 23 of May 1953].
During the conversion into a church, the original vestibule in front of the entrance was demolished, the Torah Ark was removed, and the paintings on the entire vault, including Hebrew inscriptions on the eastern wall, were covered [Jiří Fiedler, “Jak jsou milí příbytkové Tvoji,” Český zápas 68, no. 32-33 (1988), p. 2]. During this reconstruction, wooden paneling was likely added to the interior walls up to the height of approximately one meter. After the reconstruction, the building received new furnishings. On the eastern side, where the Torah Ark once stood, there is now a raised platform with an altar table, a lectern, and a pulpit. Two niches are located on the eastern wall. One contains a menorah, referencing the building’s past, while the other one is empty. Between the two niches, there is a simple wooden cross with the inscription above it “Kristus prostřed nás” (Christ among us).
On the western side of the prayer hall, next to the entrance, there is a prayer plaque containing the text of prayer Tziduk ha-Din. According to the inscription on the plaque, it was renovated in 1867 (5627 according to the Hebrew chronogram תרכ״ז לפק) by Yaakov David Arnstein. Other prominent community members and donors are also commemorated on the plaque, including Natan Baumgarten, Hirsch Fallneuer, Mordechai Wallis, Leib Heimer and Yosef Berl Shapira.
The facade of the building is plain and lacks ornamentation, except for the artistically rendered northeastern corner. All windows and doors feature pointed arches to evoke the Gothic style. The pairs of windows on the eastern, northern, and southern facades gave light to the prayer hall; currently, the eastern windows are bricked up. On the western facade, two windows are flanking the entrance on the ground floor, and three windows of the women’s section (the central one is currently bricked up).
To the right of the main entrance on the western side, there is a plaque identifying the name of the church as “The Dr. Karel Farský Meeting House” and a board summarizing the history of the building.
sub-set tree: 
The Jewish community settled in the town of Třebíč as early as the first half of the 14th century. Over time, a Jewish quarter was established on the banks of the Jihlava River in the area known as Podklášteří. The Jewish quarter had two synagogues: the older "Front" synagogue and the newer "Rear" synagogue. The Front Synagogue was built between 1639 and 1642, likely on the site of the wooden synagogue first mentioned in 1590 [Jaroslav Klenovský, Encyklopedie židovských památek Moravy a Slezska, (Praha: Grada, 2018), p. 309-313].
During World War II, the synagogue was closed due to the prohibition of Jewish worship and served as a warehouse. It was briefly used again by the Shoah survivors after the war, but likely due to the very low number of community members, they found a smaller room for their meetings. Consequently, in 1952, the Czechoslovak Church (CČS), now the Czechoslovak Husite Church (CČSH) purchased the synagogue in a very poor condition. Between 1953 and 1954, the church carried out an extensive reconstruction to convert the synagogue into a church. The building was officially opened as a church on September 19, 1954 [FIEDLER, Jiří. Jak jsou milí příbytkové Tvoji [Třebíč]. Český zápas, 1987, roč. 67, č. 12, s. 3.].
The opening ceremony was attended by approximately 2,000 people, including the Patriarch of the CČS, Miroslav Kovář, and the Brno regional rabbi, Richard Feder. The reconstruction was designed by Ing. B. Máčel from Brno and Ing. A. Drda from Třebíč. During the ceremony, a list of 275 Holocaust victims from the Třebíč community was placed into a capsule within the synagogue wall near the entrance [Ústřední archiv a muzeum CČSH, f. Ústřední rada CČSH, sign. Složky náboženských obcí – Třebíč; Nový sbor Dr. K. Farského v Třebíči, zpráva o slavnosti uveřejněná v 38. čísle Českého zápasu]. Under the name "Dr. Farský Meeting House," the church remains in use by the CČSH to this day [Jiří Fiedler, “Jak jsou milí příbytkové Tvoji,” Český zápas 68, no. 32-33 (1988), p. 2].
Fiedler, Jiří. Jewish Sights of Bohemia and Moravia (Prague:Sefer, 1991)
Klenovský, Jaroslav, Encyklopedie židovských památek Moravy a Slezska (Prague: Grada Publishing, 2018)., pp. 309-314.
Klenovský, Jaroslav, Ludmila Hájková, Brány spravedlivých: Synagogy Moravy, Slezska a Čech / The Gates of the Righteous: Synagogues in Moravia, Silesia and Bohemia (Ústí nad Labem: Foto Studio H, 2012)
Klenovský, Jaroslav. Židovské památky Moravy a Slezska - Jewish Monuments of Moravia and Silesia (Brno, 2001)
https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Přední_synagoga_(Třebíč)
Jiří Fiedler, “Jak jsou milí příbytkové Tvoji,” Český zápas 68, no. 32-33 (1988), p. 2.