Tempel Synagogue (Kraków)

Tempel Synagogue
Polish: Synagoga Tempel
The synagogue in 2024
Religion
Affiliation	Reform Judaism
Rite	Nusach Ashkenaz
Ecclesiastical or organisational status	Synagogue
Status	Active
Location
Location	24 Miodowa Street, Kazimierz, Kraków, Lesser Poland Voivodeship
Country	Poland
Location of the synagogue in Lesser Poland Voivodeship
Geographic coordinates	50°3′10.5″N 19°56′40″E
Architecture
Architect(s)	Ignacy Hercok
Type	Synagogue architecture
Style	Moorish Revival Rundbogenstil
Groundbreaking	1860
Completed	1862
Specifications
Dome(s)	One
Materials	Brick

The Tempel Synagogue (Polish: Synagoga Tempel) is a Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue, located at 24 Miodowa Street, in the historic Kazimierz district of Kraków, in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship of Poland. Designed by Ignacy Hercok in the Moorish Revival and Rundbogenstil styles and completed in 1862, the synagogue is a major place of worship, and also a booming center of Jewish culture, which hosts numerous concerts and meetings, especially during the Kraków Jewish Culture Festival.

History

The Moorish Revival and Rundbogenstil styled-building was designed by Ignacy Hercok, and built in 1860–1862 along Miodowa Street. The temple, with its tall central section flanked by lower wings, is designed on the pattern of the Leopoldstädter Tempel, in Vienna, Austria. At the time the synagogue was built, Kraków was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The richly finished interior is adorned with dense patterns painted in many colors and copious amounts of gold leaf, but the patterns, with the exception of the exquisite Moorish design on the ceiling, are not stylistically Moorish. The arch over the Aron Kodesh with its pattern of alternating tall and short houses is more in the style of Polish folk art than anything Islamic. The Aron Kodesh is covered by a gold-leaf dome that evokes the dome over the Sigismund Chapel in the nearby Wawel Cathedral.

The synagogue was desecrated during World War II by the German Nazis, who used the building as ammunition storage area. After the war, it was used again for prayers. In 1947, a mikvah was built in the northern part of the synagogue. Regular prayers were held until 1985. A large inflow of financial contributions from private donors around the world allowed the synagogue to undergo a vast renovation from 1995 until 2000. It is still active today, although formal prayers are held only a few times a year.

Gallery

• 
  Interior of the synagogue
• 
  Façade of the Tempel Synagogue of Kraków in June 2024
• 
  The iconic golden ceiling
• 
  Altar in the synagogue
• 
  Exterior
• 
  Aron Hakodesh
• 
  Melaveh Malkah in Tempel Synagogue
• 
  Acknowledgement plaque in the synagogue listing the names of the contributors, both individuals and organisations
• 
  WWII memorial plaque in the synagogue
• 
  Posters on the gates of the synagogue

See also

• Chronology of Jewish Polish history
• Culture of Kraków
• History of the Jews in Poland
• List of active synagogues in Poland
• Synagogues of Kraków

External links

• www.JewishKrakow.net - a guide to the Tempel Synagogue as well as Kazimierz in general, Kraków's Jewish quarter
• The Jewish Community of Krakow