The Great Synagogue () was a former

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

congregation and

synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

, that was located in

Oświęcim Oświęcim (; ; ; ) is a town in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship in southern Poland, situated southeast of Katowice, near the confluence of the Vistula (''Wisła'') and Soła rivers. Oświęcim dates back to the 12th century, when it was an im ...

(), in the

Lesser Poland Voivodeship Lesser Poland Voivodeship ( ) is a voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship in southern Poland. It has an area of , and a population of 3,404,863 (2019). Its capital and largest city is Kraków. The province's name recalls the traditional name of a h ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. Designed by Carl Korn and completed in 1873, the synagogue served as a house of prayer until World War II when it was destroyed by

Nazis Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

in November 1939.

History

Old synagogue

The first mention of a Jewish congregation in Oświęcim dates from 1588, when the congregation was probably established. Archival documents suggest that a

townsman A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough counci ...

from Oświęcim, Jan Piotraszewski, gave or sold his land to the local Jewish community so that they could build their temple and

cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite, graveyard, or a green space called a memorial park or memorial garden, is a place where the remains of many death, dead people are burial, buried or otherwise entombed. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek ...

. The first building was likely a

wooden synagogue Wood is a structural tissue/material found as xylem in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulosic fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin that ...

, that was probably destroyed during the

Swedish deluge The Deluge was a series of mid-17th-century military campaigns in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. In a wider sense, it applies to the period between the Khmelnytsky Uprising of 1648 and the Truce of Andrusovo in 1667, comprising the Pol ...

. Over the centuries the building was twice destroyed by fire. The first time was on July 6, 1711. After this fire, a stone temple was constructed. Another fire damaged the building in 1863.

Great Synagogue

The last synagogue, the Great Synagogue, was built in 1873 after the last fire on the site of the pre-existing synagogue. Between 1899 and 1900 it was redesigned and rebuilt by the architect Carl Korn. The building received a representative, richly decorated facade with elements of

Romanesque Revival Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Revival buildings tended t ...

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

Moorish Revival Moorish Revival or Neo-Moorish is one of the exotic revival architectural styles that were adopted by architects of Europe and the Americas in the wake of Romanticism, Romanticist Orientalism. It reached the height of its popularity after the mi ...

and ''

Rundbogenstil (round-arch style) is a 19th-century historic revival style of architecture popular in the German-speaking lands and the German diaspora. It combines elements of Byzantine, Romanesque, and Renaissance architecture with particular s ...

'' styles. The

façade A façade or facade (; ) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a loanword from the French language, French (), which means "frontage" or "face". In architecture, the façade of a building is often the most important asp ...

of the building was maintained in a representative style, similarly to other synagogues designed by Korn. The synagogue was the first building in the city to have electrical lighting installed; the lights were first switched on in 1925. The temple was demolished on the night of 29-30 November 1939 by the

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

soldiers. In 1941, its ruins were demolished, and the area was used to build

air-raid shelters Air raid shelters are structures for the protection of non-combatants as well as combatants against enemy attacks from the air. They are similar to bunkers in many regards, although they are not designed to defend against ground attack (but ...

After World War II

After the war, the synagogue was not rebuilt. The place where it was standing was left empty for years, as a testimony to the events of the war. In 2004, archaeological excavations were carried out on the former synagogue site . Approximately 400 objects were found during the works, called the Oświęcim Treasure, comprising the equipment of the synagogue – including chandeliers, copper

Ner tamid Chancel lamp in the Rotunda of Mosta, Sanctuary Basilica of the Assumption of Our Lady, Malta A sanctuary lamp, chancel lamp, altar lamp, everlasting light, or eternal flame is a light that shines before the altar of sanctuaries in many Jewish and ...

lamps, fragments of furniture and ornaments, decorative floor tiles, marble elements of the

Aron Kodesh A Torah ark (also known as the ''hekhal'', , or ''aron qodesh'', ) is an ornamental chamber in the synagogue that houses the Torah scrolls. History The ark is also known as the ''ark of law'', or in Hebrew the ''Aron Kodesh'' () or ''aron ha-Kod ...

, a ceremonial dish for washing hands, charred fragments of prayer books and commemorative plaques. Most items dated from the second half of the 19th century. The discovery was transferred to the Auschwitz Jewish Center in Oświęcim, where the artefacts were catalogued, inventoried and restored. Some items are on display at the permanent exhibition at the Center's Jewish Museum. Nearly 80 years after the destruction of the synagogue, the inhabitants of Oświęcim decided to establish a Great Synagogue Memorial Park on the site as a place of commemoration and reflection. The project was initiated by the

Auschwitz Jewish Center in Oświęcim The Auschwitz Jewish Center is a non-governmental organization whose mission is to preserve the memory of the Jewish community of the city of Oświęcim and educate about the dangers of anti-Semitism, racism and other prejudices and intolerance. ...

and was carried out thanks to a fundraiser that was attended by residents, local entrepreneurs, public institutions, and descendants of Oświęcim Jews. The park was opened on November 28, 2019.

History of the religious community

The beginning of the Jewish settlement in Oświęcim officially began in the first half of the 16th century, so before the

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the community was over 400 years old. It is possible that earlier there were Jewish inhabitants in the city, because of the

trade routes A trade route is a Logistics, logistical network identified as a series of pathways and stoppages used for the commercial transport of cargo. The term can also be used to refer to trade over land or water. Allowing Good (economics and accounting ...

and near other trade centres, but it has not been confirmed by documents. Initially, the centre of Jewish life was located in the northern part of the town, but in time the community moved and settled in the southern part. The area of

Oświęcim castle Oświęcim (; ; ; ) is a town in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship in southern Poland, situated southeast of Katowice, near the confluence of the Vistula (''Wisła'') and Soła rivers. Oświęcim dates back to the 12th century, when it was an im ...

and Żydowska Street (today, Berka Joselewicza Street) became the central area of Jewish life. According to the research of Artur Szyndler, Jews lived also in other parts of the city. The beginning of the 20th century was a period of prosperity for the Jewish community and the entire town. There were very prosperous factories in the city producing paper, chemical products and other goods. The Great Synagogue was attended mainly by representatives of the progressive Jewish intelligentsia (including doctors, lawyers, entrepreneurs and officials), and to a limited extent also traditionalists. The synagogue, with 2,000 places, was known as the Great Synagogue as it had a representative function for the local Jewish community. The magnificent temple building was visible in the city skyline and symbolized the importance of the Jewish community. The religious life of the Jewish community of Oświęcim focused around the synagogue. The main rabbis of the Jewish community in Oświęcim who held services in the synagogue in the years 1873–1939 were: Lazar Münz, Szlomo Halberstam, Abraham Schnur, Osias Pinkas Bombach and his last son, Eliasz Bombach. Before the Second World War, more than the half of Oświęcim's population was Jewish. There were around 20 synagogues in the city.

Architecture

The appearance of the synagogue before the reconstruction that ended in 1900 and the interior is unknown because no photographs or architectural plans have survived. The new design of the building was planned by Carl Korn between 1899 and 1900. The design is known from surviving photographs from the early 20th century. Korn was a well-known Polish architect from

Bielsko Bielsko (, ) was until 1950 an independent town situated in Cieszyn Silesia, Poland. In 1951 it was joined with Biała Krakowska to form the new town of Bielsko-Biała. Bielsko constitutes the western part of that town. Bielsko was founded by ...

who also designed Biała and

Wadowice Wadowice () is a town in southern Poland, southwest of Kraków with 17,455 inhabitants (2022), situated on the Skawa river, confluence of Vistula, in the eastern part of Silesian Foothills (Pogórze Śląskie). Wadowice is known for being the bir ...

synagogues. The brick synagogue building was erected on a rectangular plan. Inside was a vestibule from which one could enter the main prayer hall. It was surrounded on three sides by galleries for women, to which separate entrances and staircases led. Inside there were 2000 seats. At the beginning of the 20th century, annexes to the north and to the south were added, filling the empty space on a slope on which the synagogue had been erected. The synagogue had a representative, richly ornamented facade with elements of Romanesque Revival, Gothic Revival, Moorish Revival and ''Rundbogenstil'' styles. The details of the decoration referred to the ornamentation of the Tempel Synagogue in Miodowa Street in

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

. Other inspirations for its architectural from could be seen in German architecture, e.g. the Hamburg synagogue of

Albrecht Rosengarten Albrecht Rosengarten (also ''Albert'' Rosengarten, 5 January 1809 – 15 August 1893) was among the first Jewish Germans permitted to train and practice as an architect and the first to design synagogues. His work was a major influence on the ''Rund ...

. The building was crowned with two onion-shaped

domes A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a m ...

. A description of the interior of the synagogue can be found in a conversation with a Jew from Oświęcim, Manheimer:

References

External links

* * {{Synagogues in Poland 1939 disestablishments in Poland 19th-century synagogues in Poland Buildings and structures demolished in 1939 Gothic Revival architecture in Poland Gothic Revival synagogues History of Oświęcim Moorish Revival architecture in Poland Moorish Revival synagogues Religious buildings and structures in Lesser Poland Voivodeship Romanesque Revival architecture in Poland Romanesque Revival synagogues Rundbogenstil synagogues Synagogues completed in 1873 Synagogues in Poland destroyed by Nazi Germany Buildings and structures in Oświęcim