High Synagogue

ul.Józefa 38,Kraków http://www.krakow.pl/english/instcbi/6316,inst,13142,1501,instcbi.html

About

The High Synagogue was built as the third one in the Jewish town in Kazimierz, after the Old and New (Remuh) synagogues. It was built after 1556 but not later than in 1563. The synagogue's name is derived from the fact that the room of prayer was situated at the upper storey of the building. This unusual location of the prayer room was adopted for security reasons as the synagogue was standing at the gate to the Jewish town, which is a particularly busy place full of street clamour and in very close proximity of the Christian properties. At the broader eastern side there probably were shops from the very beginning of its existence. At the end of the 1880s the men's and women's prayer rooms were added to the synagogue at the upper storey of the house neighbouring with it from the west. The synagogue's fate during the Second World War 1939-45 and during the next six years after its termination has not been documented. Undoubtedly, it was a period of degradation of the building's architecture and the total scattering of the synagogue's furnishings, including in particular the valuable items of ceremonious art. Since 1966 the building has been used by the Heritage Conservation Laboratories.The interior preserved only fragments of the old decor, including stone frame of the altar panel at the eastern wall and remains of wall paintings with texts of prayers discovered and preserved in the 1960s.
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