Synagogue in Klimontów

Four white Ionic columns, a triangular pediment and stairs climbing to the upper floor from both sides – the synagogue in Klimontów looks more like a Neoclassical country house than a house of prayer. It is one of the town's most distinctive buildings and the most important reminder of its Jewish community.

History

The synagogue was built in 1846–1851 on today's Szkolna street, right next to the market square and the old Jewish cemetery. During the Second World War the Germans completely wrecked the interior and used the building as a warehouse. After the war it stood empty for a long time. In the 1950s it housed a fruit and vegetable buying station run by a horticultural cooperative – the windows were bricked up and the bimah and original floor removed.

Full historical documentation was drawn up in 1979, and in the 1980s a plan was made to turn the building into a town museum and performance hall. The most urgent conservation work was carried out in the early 1990s, but then the money ran out. Graffiti was removed from the façade in 2007. The building is still waiting for a new use.

What to look for

• The portico – four Ionic columns under a timber pediment with three round-topped windows, a solution borrowed from palaces and manor houses.
• The external double staircase that led to the women's gallery above the vestibule.
• The side walls with pilasters and tall round-arched windows.
• The interior – the square prayer hall under a mirror vault still has the niche of the Torah ark in its east wall. It was originally decorated with carved lions and paintings of the tablets of the Law and the Torah crown.
• The size – a rectangular building of 17 by 24 metres.

Tripto tip

The synagogue is usually closed, so you see it from outside – 10–15 minutes is enough. Fit it into a walk around Klimontów: St Joseph's Collegiate Church and the former Dominican Church of Our Lady and St Hyacinth are a few minutes away. The site of the old Jewish cemetery next door was turned into a school sports field after the war, and the gravestones were gathered in one place.