The Stara Synagogue, also known as Alte Szil and Alt Stodt Shul meaning ''Old Town 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 ...

, located at 20 Wolborska Street, in

Łódź Łódź is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located south-west of Warsaw. Łódź has a population of 655,279, making it the country's List of cities and towns in Polan ...

, in the

Łódź Voivodeship Łódź Voivodeship ( ) is a Voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship (province) of Poland. The province is named after its capital and largest city, Łódź, pronounced . Łódź Voivodeship is bordered by six other voivodeships: Masovian Voivodeship ...

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 Adolf Zeligson in the

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 ...

style and completed in 1900, 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 ...

on 15–16 November 1939. It was the third synagogue built in Łódź by the congregation.

History

Łódź, a village of fewer than 200 people at the end of the eighteenth century, developed rapidly into a great industrial city. Łódź's first synagogue, a wooden building, was built in 1809 at 8 Wolborska Street. The land was purchased from a lieutenant in the National Guard named Józef Aufschlag. By 1854 the building was in such poor condition that it was condemned by town authorities. Services are known to have continued thorough 1861 despite the official condemnation. Work began in 1859 on a new, brick synagogue at 20 Wolborska Street designed by Jan Karol Mertsching in a Neo-

Mannerist Mannerism is a style in European art that emerged in the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520, spreading by about 1530 and lasting until about the end of the 16th century in Italy, when the Baroque style largely replaced it ...

style. The new building opened in 1861. Construction, slowed by a financial crisis, continued until 1871. The 1861 building was replaced between 1897 and 1900 by an elaborate

style synagogue designed by Adolf Zeligson, a well-known Łódź architect. The architect's signed plans for the building were auctioned at

Sotheby's Sotheby's ( ) is a British-founded multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine art, fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, an ...

on 17 December 2008, for $13,750. The name ''Stara'' means ''old,'' and many Polish cities called the oldest synagogue in town the Stara synagogue. The Stara was Łódź's principal Orthodox synagogue. It was built by Orthodox industrial magnates who wished to outshine, or at least compete with, the 1881 Great Synagogue built by the

Reform Reform refers to the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The modern usage of the word emerged in the late 18th century and is believed to have originated from Christopher Wyvill's Association movement, which ...

Jewish community. The synagogue was burned to the ground on 15–16 November 1939 during the Nazi occupation. Other synagogues destroyed by the Nazis in Łódź included the Great Synagogue, on 14 November 1939, and the Ezras Israel Synagogue, also in November 1939.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stara Synagogue, Lodz 1809 establishments in the Russian Empire 1939 disestablishments in Poland 20th-century synagogues in Poland Buildings and structures demolished in 1939 Former Orthodox synagogues in Poland Jewish organizations established in 1809 Moorish Revival architecture in Poland Moorish Revival synagogues Synagogues completed in 1900 Synagogues in Łódź Synagogues in Poland destroyed by Nazi Germany

History

See also

References

External links