Synagogue in Zamość, Poland


The Renaissance synagogue in the Zamość Old City is one of the most spectacular monuments of Jewish heritage in Poland. The first synagogue in Zamość was built in the 1590s as a wooden structure. In 1610 the current brick building was erected, taking eight years to complete.
During the World War II the synagogue suffered major damage. The Nazis turned the interior into a carpenters’ workshop. Synagogue was rebuilt in the communist period and from 1958 until early in the 20th century the building served as a public library. Recently restored to the Polish Jewish community, the building was renovated. In addition to being available for prayer services, the restored main prayer hall of the synagogue is used for lectures and concerts.
Currently next to the building of the synagogue is the former office of the community from the 18th century. Nearby there is a building of the former Mikveh renovated in the 19th century.

Today only a few Jews live in Zamość. In 1939 there were over 12,000 who made up 45% of the city's population. Of these only 5,000 managed to escape the Holocaust by crossing the Bug River, which in 1939 became the border with the Soviet Union. The Nazis imprisoned those remaining in a ghetto (the Zamość Ghetto), from which they were transported to the Bełżec death camp.
(Learn more: Wikipedia & The "Synagogue" Center & WMF-Renaissance Synagogue in Zamość)


Linked to: Zamość - the ideal city & Great Market Square in Zamość & Zamość Fortress & Afternoon walk around Zamość & Churches in Zamość
Labels:
Location: Zamość, Poland

Comments

  1. Joe27/1/15 7:20 am

    Wow ... such dramatic and colourful architecture. Fascinating.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous27/1/15 8:46 am

    Wow - gorgeous shots.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Pieni Lintu27/1/15 10:19 am

    Looks great!

    http://pienilintu.blogspot.fi/2015/01/sydantalvena.html

    ReplyDelete
  4. Mersad27/1/15 11:41 am

    I love that the landscapes are veiled in some snow. It really adds a special touch to them. A sad story behind the place though.

    Mersad
    Mersad Donko Photography

    ReplyDelete
  5. Out And About Global27/1/15 4:57 pm

    Nice lighting!

    ReplyDelete
  6. chai-and-chardonnay.blogspot.com27/1/15 8:37 pm

    It looks great against the blue sky. Despite its sad history the place seems to be so peaceful.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Tamar SB27/1/15 10:02 pm

    Thank you for sharing this! I would love to go to Poland one day and see these sites!

    ReplyDelete
  8. molly29/1/15 12:59 am

    What an amazing contrast between the blue sky and the white of the snow

    mollyxxx

    ReplyDelete
  9. Kmcblackburn29/1/15 7:49 pm

    I adore Eastern Europe, and Poland is def on my "to do" list. Thanks for sharing at Song-ography!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Mersad29/5/15 8:55 am

    Picture perfect! Love the light in your photos. Thanks for linking in with Friday My Town Shoot Out.

    Mersad
    Mersad Donko Photography

    ReplyDelete
  11. DawnTreader29/5/15 2:04 pm

    Beautiful building, glad that it has been restored to its original purpose!

    ReplyDelete
  12. NCSue29/5/15 7:00 pm

    So beautiful - what a marvelous building.
    Won't you please share at http://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2015/05/tally-ho.html

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

I will be very much appreciate all your comments and insights. Thank you.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

Most Popular Articles

Azalea and Rhododendron Park in Kromlau, Germany

Image
Kromlau is a small and charming village located in the municipality of Gablenz, Germany, less than 6 kilometres from the Polish border. In Kromlau is one of the largest landscape parks in Saxony. The park lies in the Muskau Arch area (learn more at:   Muskau Arch - UNESCO Global Geopark ).  The park is a beautiful example of an English garden and has many small ponds and lakes. The Azalea and Rhododendron Park in Kromlau was commissioned by Friedrich Herrmann Rötschke, the knight of Kromlau, in the middle of the 19th century.  The Rötschke's landscape park was created after location of Fürst-Pückler-Park in Muskau ( lick learn more at: Muskau Park - World Heritage Site ) . The "little Pückler" spared a little bit of money. Rare woody plants, mythological and rococo statues, basalt caves as well as a bow bridge of stone blocks and basalt stone were design elements of his park. He also built the hunting lodge in the park and surrounded it with flower beds. 
Keep reading

Malbork - the world's largest brick castle

Image
Malbork is a town in northern Poland in the Żuławy region (Vistula delta). There is located an impressive Medieval castle. This biggest brick castle in the world and the largest castle of the Gothic period is one of Europe's most imposing fortresses - "the largest pile of bricks north to Alps". The castle in Malbork was built by the Teutonic Order after the conquest of Old Prussia. The work was started in 1274 on the southeastern bank of the river Nogat. The fortress was named Castle of Mary - Marienburg in German. In 1309 the castle and the city became the capital city of Teutonic Order's state. High Castle surrounded by moats and walls and became the office of Grand Masters and the order's highest officials. Middle Castle become house of lower rank brothers and guests. There was also a Great Refectory infirmary for older and ill brothers. In 14th and 15th century was build third segment - Lower Castle - armory, granary, storehouse, as well as St. Lawrenc
Keep reading

Mountain ranges in Poland

Image
Tatra Mountains and Pieniny Mountains Poland is a relatively low-lying country. More than 90% percent of its territory lies ca 300 m above sea level, but there are three main mountain ranges located mainly in the southern part of the country. They run in a direction from west to east and include the Carpathian Mountains (Carpathians), the Sudety Mountains (Sudetes), and the Świętokrzyskie Mountains (Holy Cross Mountains).  All of these mountain ranges, except for the Świętokrzyskie Mountains form a natural southern border of Poland. Sudetes Śnieżka (1603 m a.s.l.)  - the highest peak of Karkonosze Mountains Sudetes (Sudety Mountains) The Sudetes stretches from eastern Germany along the south-western Poland. The highest peak of the range is Śnieżka in the Karkonosze Mountains (Giant Mountains) on the Czechia-Poland border, which is 1,603 metres in elevation. The Sudetes are usually divided into Eastern Sudetes (in Poland are two ranges: Golden Mountains and Śnieżn
Keep reading

Former industrial empire of Izrael Poznański in Łódź, Poland

Image
Spinning mill (today hotel) and main gate of former Poznański's factory   The beginnings of the Poznański textile factory  Izrael K. Poznański was born on 25 August 1833 in Aleksandrów near Łódź, as the youngest son of Kalman Poznański. A year later, the Poznańskis moved to Lódź. In 1851 he married Leonia Hertz, daughter of the clerk of Jewish hospitals in Warsaw. This marriage enriches Izrael Poznański’s, a master of „weaving profession” at the time, fortune by a manufacturer worth 500 roubles. Main gate of the former Poznański's factory He started to work for Karol Scheibler's company in Łódź. However, he was gradually setting out to accomplish his greatest project - the construction of a great factory. From 1871 Poznański began to buy out the green-licks between Ogrodowa, Stodolniana (now: Zachodnia) and Podrzeczna Streets. The construction of Poznański’s industrial complex began in the 70s of 19th century. The first building was a weaving mill with a saw-t
Keep reading

Externsteine - magical rock formation, Germany

Image
During travelling through the scenic Teutoburg Forest in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalianear, you can find the picturesque group of rocks a few kilometres from the town of Horn-Bad Meinberg. Its name - Extersteine - usually translates as stones of the ridge. This is a highly unusual rock formation. In an area otherwise devoid of large rocks, the soaring, slender columns of Externsteine stand out as they rise sharply and with no little majesty from the surrounding landscape. The 13 sandstone pillars have been ornamented over the millennia by human hand. Yet the true origins of the star stones can be discovered through geology. The unusual geological formation consists of a hard, erosion-resistant sandstone (so-called Osningsandstein), laid down during the early Cretaceous era about 100 million years ago. Thousands of years of erosion have washed the rocks from the surrounding soil and then were formed the surface of the stone. The rock formation stretches for seve
Keep reading

Rupea Citadel: One of Transylvania’s top Medieval fortress

Image
Rupea Fortress is one of the most interesting medieval castles in Transylvania, Romania. The name of the citadel comes from Latin rupes meaning " stone ". Guarded by thick strong walls, the impressive and huge fortress is located on top of of 120 m-high basalt massive and it is perfectly visible from the scenic road Sighisoara-Brasov. It is a refuge castle, also known as a peasant citadel with four areas reinforced with polygonal towers, two interior courtyards and three defence towers. Rupea Citadel has the form of an ascending spiral (snail shell). The castle is built on four premises: Upper citadel, Middle citadel and Lower citadel. Rupea Citadel is one of the oldest archaeological sites in Romania, the first signs of human settlements dating from the Paleolithic and early Neolithic. There was a fortified city in the Dacian time. According to the legend - Decebal, the last Dacian King, took his life on the hill. He cut his throat with a single move of his
Keep reading

Garden-City Podkowa Leśna

Image
Podkowa Leśna (literal meaning - "Horseshoe Grove", in full: Miasto-ogród Podkowa Leśna - "Garden-City Podkowa Leśna") is a town in central Poland, in Grodzisk Mazowiecki County, (Masovian Voivodeship). The town is located not far from Warsaw in a beautiful setting of the Młochowskie Forests. Forests surround the town from three sides (the east, the south, and the north). The area where is situated Podkowa Leśna, since 1861 belonged to industrialist and hunter Stanislaw Lilpop. The creation of the town was connected directly to the Electric Railroad. The line was constructed and operated under the original name "Elektryczne Koleje Dojazdowe" (Electric Commuter Rail) by a privately owned electrical power industry consortium "Siła i Światło" (Power and Light) established with the participation of British capital shortly after Poland regained independence after World War I in 1918. "Garden-City Podkowa Leśna" was based on 1
Keep reading

Viscri - picturesque Saxon village in Transylvania, Romania

Image
Fortified churches in Transylvania  Romania is a beautiful and very interesting country. You can admire there magnificent scenery and a lot of splendid architectural monuments. Very interesting and picturesque architectural objects are fortified churches in Transylvania region. There are more than 100 of well preserved fortified churches from the 13th to 16th centuries. Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Villages with Fortified Churches in Transylvania are seven villages founded by the Transylvanian Saxons. They are characterised by the great variety of architectural styles. They are dominated by fortified churches and characterised by a specific settlement pattern that has been preserved since the late Middle Ages (see also: Fortified Church in Hărman, Romania ). Fortified church in Viscri - UNESCO World Heritage Site One of the most interesting Saxon fortified churches is located in the village of Viscri. The village is located in the centre of Romania, close t
Keep reading

Modlin Fortress - the largest fortification complex in Europe

Image
Not more than 34 km north of Warsaw, on the territory of Nowy Dwór Mazowiecki, in the fork of the Vistula River, the Narew River and Wkra River, is located Modlin Fortress, one of the largest fortresses in Poland and all of Europe. The fortress is a monument of defensive architecture of international significance. In Europe, only Verdun can compete with it.  Defence barracks Residential buildings History of Modlin Fortress The first fortifications around Modlin were built during the Swedish invasion in the 17th century, but the beginnings of the most impressing fortress in Europe falls in the first half of 19th century when Napoleon Bonaparte recognised the strategic importance of the area. In 1807 Emperor of the French ordered the construction of new fortifications. His military architects began to expand the fortress to both sides of the River Narew at the estuary into the Vistula to secure his leadership in Eastern Europe.  Officer's Cassino
Keep reading

Most Recent Articles

See Also