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Obj. ID: 13519
Jewish Architecture
  Great Synagogue in Kraśnik, Poland

© Eva Maria Kraiss, Photographer: Kraiss, Eva Maria, 2017

Text from the Virtual Shtetl website:

The Great Synagogue in Kraśnik was established shortly after the settlement of Jews in Kraśnik at the end of the 16th century. The first mention about the synagogue dates back to 1593.

Originally it was located in close proximity to the Market Square. After the 1637 fire the squire Tomasz Zamoyski ordered to change the location of the synagogue. The brick synagogue was erected in the years 1637-1654 near the city walls. In the 18th century the edifice was rebuilt. A two-storey women’s gallery was built from the northern side. Between 1823 and 1857 a wooden extension situated on the western side of the building was pulled down. In 1875 the synagogue was renovated after the fire which took place in 1861.

The synagogue could house 300 men and 400 women. The brick edifice of the synagogue was built in Baroque style on a square-like plan with the side of 20 m. The building was covered with a hipped broken roof. The main prayer room had a surface wooden tunnel vault. Inside the synagogue there was an alcove under Aron Hakodesh and partial polychromy which has been preserved until now. On the walls and the vault you can see wooden slats and on the western wall – two tondos with paintings. One of them presents an ox and the other one – Leviathan. There is an eagle painted on the vault which holds the etrog fruit in its beak and a bundle of plants in its claws. The eagle is surrounded by flying swallows.

During the Second World War Germans devastated the synagogue. After the end of the war in 1945 the building was renovated and used as workshops for a crafts cooperative.

After 1980 it was completely desolate and became dilapidated. In 1989 reconstruction works began but were not completed. In September 2005 the synagogue became the ownership of the Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage. In June 2006 the area round the synagogue was cleared, window and door openings were secured, heating ducts inside the buildings of the Great and Small Synagogue were protected and especially hazardous passages inside the buildings were reinforced.

In September 2005 the synagogue became available for visitors. The whole income raised from the sales of tickets is dedicated towards the preservation of the monument.

There is a plan to renovate the whole synagogue complex and to establish inside a cultural and educational center, which would be part of the „Hassidic Trail” (“Szlak Chasydzki”). In the building local cultural institutions are to have their seats; a concert and conference hall and a workshop room are to be built.



Summary and Remarks
Remarks

49 image(s)

sub-set tree:

Name/Title
Great Synagogue in Kraśnik | Unknown
Object Detail
Monument Setting
Unknown
Date
1637-1654
Synagogue active dates
Reconstruction dates
18th century; 1875; after 1945; 1989; 2006
Artist/ Maker
Unknown
Historical Origin
Unknown
Community type
Congregation
Unknown
Location
Poland | Lublin Voivodeship | Kraśnik
| Bożnicza St.
Site
Unknown
School/Style
Period
Unknown
Period Detail
Collection
Unknown |
Documentation / Research project
Unknown
Iconographical Subject
Unknown |
Textual Content
Unknown |
Languages of inscription
Unknown
Shape / Form
Unknown
Material / Technique
Material Stucture
Material Decoration
Material Bonding
Material Inscription
Material Additions
Material Cloth
Material Lining
Tesserae Arrangement
Density
Colors
Construction material
Brick
Measurements
Height
Length
Width
Depth
Circumference
Thickness
Diameter
Weight
Axis
Panel Measurements
Condition
Extant
Yes
Documented by CJA
Surveyed by CJA
Present Usage
Under reconstruction
Present Usage Details
Condition of Building Fabric
B (Fair)
Architectural Significance type
Historical significance: Event/Period
Historical significance: Collective Memory/Folklore
Historical significance: Person
Architectural Significance: Style
Architectural Significance: Artistic Decoration

Wall paintings

Urban significance
Part of synagogue compound (shulhoyf)
Significance Rating
3 (National)
0
Ornamentation
Custom
Contents
Codicology
Scribes
Script
Number of Lines
Ruling
Pricking
Quires
Catchwords
Hebrew Numeration
Blank Leaves
Direction/Location
Façade (main)
Endivances
Location of Torah Ark
Location of Apse
Location of Niche
Location of Reader's Desk
Location of Platform
Temp: Architecture Axis
Arrangement of Seats
Location of Women's Section
Direction Prayer
Direction Toward Jerusalem
Coin
Coin Series
Coin Ruler
Coin Year
Denomination
Signature
Colophon
Scribal Notes
Watermark
Hallmark
Group
Group
Group
Group
Group
Trade Mark
Binding
Decoration Program
Suggested Reconsdivuction
History/Provenance
Main Surveys & Excavations
Sources

Andrzej Trzciński, The Traces of Monuments of Jewish Culture in the Lublin Region ([Lublin], [1989]), p. 26.

Bergman, Eleonora and Jan Jagelski. Zachowane synagogi i domy modlitwy w Polsce. Katalog (Warsaw: Jewish Historical Institute, 1996), p. 71 with ill..

Burchard, Przemysław. Pamiątki i zabytki kultury Żydowskiej w Polsce (Warsaw: Burchard Edition, 1990), p. 163.

Hatsfira, 27.10.1887, p. 3;

http://www.sztetl.org.pl/en/article/krasnik/11,synagogues-prayer-houses-and-others/4389,great-synagogue-in-krasnik-bozniczna-street-/

Type
Documenter
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Author of description
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Architectural Drawings
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Computer Reconstruction
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Section Head
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Language Editor
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Donor
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Negative/Photo. No.
The following information on this monument will be completed:
Unknown |