Former Synagogue in Siemiatycze

On Zaszkolna Street in Siemiatycze stands a massive white building with a tall hipped roof — the former synagogue that Princess Anna Jabłonowska funded for the town's Jews as compensation for the cemetery they lost when the town was rebuilt. The Neoclassical synagogue was raised at the end of the 18th century to a design by Szymon Bogumił Zug, one of the leading architects of late 18th-century Poland. Today it houses the gallery of the Siemiatycze Cultural Centre (SOK), so you can step inside during normal opening hours.

History: a princess's gift and a hard 20th century

Under Anna Jabłonowska, Siemiatycze was thoroughly remodelled in the second half of the 18th century, and Zug also designed her palace and the town hall here. The synagogue design dates from 1777, and construction is usually placed in 1797–1801, as given by the Polish catalogue of art monuments. Researchers note that the Jewish community resisted the landowner's proposal for a long time before accepting the new synagogue. The interior once had a three-storey Torah ark on the east wall and rich wall paintings with animal and plant motifs.

In 1824 the building was gutted by fire, and in 1944 its furnishings were destroyed. After the war it served as warehouses and shops, and was later converted into a community centre: a stage replaced the east wall, the ceilings were rebuilt in reinforced concrete, and of the original interior little more than the general layout survived. At the end of 2019 another renovation began, covering the walls, pillars and doors.

What to see

• The west facade with seven bays and giant-order pilasters, restored to its early 20th-century appearance.
• The main hall, divided by rows of pillars joined by round arches that once carried the women's galleries.
• Exhibitions of the SOK Gallery — contemporary art, photography and folk art; the gallery continues the tradition of the Regional Museum founded in 1976 by the Society of Friends of Siemiatycze.
• The Przyszkółek, a former Talmudic house of study from around 1900, standing nearby.

Did you know?

Architect Mateusz Michalski, who surveyed the building, showed that the synagogue was planned entirely in the new Warsaw measure, a system of units introduced in the late 18th century. His study links the building's dimensions to verses of the Tikkun Chatzot, a midnight prayer — a rare piece of research into number symbolism in Polish synagogue architecture.

Tripto tip

The SOK Gallery (Zaszkolna 1, tel. +48 85 655 23 08) is open from 1 October to 30 June on Mondays 12:00–18:00, Tuesday to Friday 10:00–18:00 and Saturdays 8:00–16:00; from 1 July to 30 September it opens Tuesday to Saturday 10:00–18:00 and Sundays 14:00–18:00. Hours can change around events, so check the centre's website before you go. Allow 30–45 minutes for the building and the current show; between May and November, combine it with the Museum of Sepulchral Art at the parish cemetery on Ciechanowiecka Street, also run by SOK.