"The Great Synagogue" in Tykocin, Poland


"The Great Synagogue" in Tykocin is the second biggest synagogue in Poland (after Krakow), and one of the oldest in our country. The synagogue established in 1642, was thoroughly restored in the late 1970s. The impressive synagogue that has survived until today was built in the place of a wooden temple from the 15th century, in the centre of the Jewish district – Kaczorowo.


The stone building in the late-Renaissance-Baroque style was based on a rectangular ground plan, size: 18 x 18 m. From three sides the building is adjacent to one-storey extensions, which housed two women's galleries and a vestibule, which was the seat of the cheder as well as a meeting room for the court and kehilla. The rectangular prayer hall is located lower than the vestibule. The two-storey bimah, located in the centre, is surrounded by four pillars that converge, becoming a support for the ceiling. On the east wall, there is a stone frame of the Torah ark, while the remaining walls contained polychromies with Hebrew inscriptions as well as images of plants and animals. The historic wall paintings, most of which are decorative texts of Hebrew prayers, were restored in the 1970s. Inside the Synagogue, we can see a lot of Judaic items.


There is also the Talmudic House (the small Synagogue/Bet Midrash - study and prayer hall) which is aside from the Great Synagogue. It houses a permanent exhibition about Zygmunt Gloger, small old pharmacy and temporary artistic exhibition. In the building, there is also a restaurant “Tejsza” serving Jewish cuisine.



A few kilometres east of Tykocin in the small farm in Pentowo the European Storks Village (see the previous post) is located. Little farther - in small village Kiermusy - the Centre of protection of the European bison is located.


You can read articles about Podlasie region: 

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Comments

  1. wonderful images of a beautiful Synagogue

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  2. What a fantastic building and great that it was resstored

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  3. Gorgeous! It looks pretty modest on the outside, but it's spectacular in details on the inside.

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  4. Beautiful! Love the colours.

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  5. Thank you for these good photos and descriptions of the Great Synagogue. I try to imagine how it was full of life for centuries. I think half of Tykocin was Jewish. The massacre in the forest put a sudden end to that.
    At least the buildings are well taken care of now, and that is good.

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  6. Like this place, it seems very peaceful.

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  7. Only ever seen one and that was unused , nice to see what one really looks like in use

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  8. A fascinating beautiful place. It's great that buildings like these are being restored. It would be a crime to loose them. Great photography.
    Thanks for sharing and I wish you a great week ahead.

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  9. Oh wow wow wow! I so want to get there one day!!

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  10. Hello, beautiful buildings. The details are lovely. Great post and photos. Happy Monday, enjoy your new week!

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  11. Wonderful - what a beautiful place. Thank you for sharing at http://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2016/05/the-cats-of-san-juan.html.

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  12. Przepiękna jest ta synagoga.
    Pozdrawiam:)*

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  13. Piękna architektura. Pozdrawiam

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  14. Marvelous building and photography. Thank you for linking in with "Through My Lens".

    Mersad
    Mersad Donko Photography

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  15. What an amazing piece of history, so great that it is still being used. Thank you for sharing! : )

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  16. What a beautiful synagogue! I really didn't believe there were things like that left, I thought they destroyed most old buildings during WWII in Poland.

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  17. thank you kindly for commenting on my travel blog, i appreciate that. i find that do better with my photography skills on travel blog photos. sometimes my church photos are on the go ... not standing still. hope you are well. have a great week. take care. ( ;

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  18. Great building and beautiful photos!

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  19. lovely buildings snapped

    much love...

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  20. This is a wonderful series of shots of this beautiful place. Thanks for sharing it.

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  21. What a fabulous piece of history that survived splendidly over the years. I agree with one comment, the outside is not much to speak of, but the inside is stunningly beautiful. I am so glad it survived and has been restored.

    Thank you so much for sharing with Life Thru the Lens. I really enjoy your posts.

    Lisa @ LTTL

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  22. Wow! An amazing building.
    Thank you for joining us at the Travel Tuesday meme. I look forward to your next contribution!

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  23. Absolutely stunning photos!

    Leslie
    abcw team

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  24. Amazing and beautiful... I would love to visit it for myself and walk through there, seems like a wonderful trip

    Have a nice ABC-day / - Week
    ♫ M e l ☺ d y ♫ (abc-team)
    http://melodymusic.nl/a-b-c-wednesday-19-t/

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  25. Definite architectural design period

    ROG, ABCW

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