- Great Synagogue (Danzig)
Infobox religious building
building_name=Great Synagogue in Danzig
caption=Great Synagogue in Danzig (Gdańsk)
location=Danzig ,Germany
geo=
religious_affiliation=Reform Judaism
district=
status=Demolished in 1939
leadership=
website=
architecture_type=
architecture_style=Neo-Renaissance
facade_direction=
year_completed=1887
construction_cost=
architect=
capacity=2000
length=
width=
width_nave=
height_max=
materials=The Great Synagogue ( _pl. Wielka Synagoga, _de. Neue Synagoge), was asynagogue in the city of Danzig, Germany (laterFree City of Danzig , nowGdańsk ,Poland ). It was built in1885 -1887 on Reitbahnstraße, now Bogusławski Street. It was the largest synagogue in the city, and was demolished by the authorities in April1939 .Design
The synagogue was built in the
Neo-Renaissance style on the basis of a longrectangle . It was one of the most distinctive buildings in Danzig, with its largedome , twotower s and alantern seen at night. In the middle of a front row there was a largestained glass window with theStar of David , and allspire s were topped withmesh ed Stars of David.The spacious interior was topped with a
sail vault , from which enormouschandelier s were hung. The main chamber was located underneath the dome. TheAron Kodesh ark was on apedestal behind a "parokhet " curtain in anapse . Above the ark, the tables of theDecalog were supported by two stone lions. Behind it were large organs and thechoir of 100 members. Thebimah was behind the pedestal.Over 2000 people could participate in the services. In the main chamber there were two rows of benches for over 1600 people. Along the sidewalls and over the western entrance there were massive arcade galleries for over 300 women, supported by multi-sided
pillar s. The walls were decorated with motifs of plants, geometric symbols andBiblical verses. The entire synagogue had electric heating and lighting, relatively uncommon in the late 19th century.History
The synagogue was financed by the five reform
kehilla s: Winnicy, Wrzeszcza, Szopy, Starych Szkotów and ul. Szerokiej. It was built by a company fromBerlin , Ende and Boeckman, chosen by thecity council .It was opened with a ceremony on
15 September 1887 , by the Danzigrabbi Kossman Werner, in the presence of the city council and the faithful. Thescroll s ofTorah were transported in from the Old Synagogue and two other synagogues (the Great Synagogue was seen as a building uniting the Danzig Jews), placed in the Aron Kodesh and theEternal Light was lit. The first service was held on8 December 1887 .At the beginning of the 20th century the synagogue became one of the most notable centres of
Reform Judaism . A large museum of Judaism contained many rare and old items, particularly the collection ofLesser Giełdziński . Many concerts were held here, and rabbis and professors from all around the world gavelecture s.The 1920s saw the rising
anti-Semitism and the increasing strength of theNazi Party in Germany. Danzig was closely tied to Germany, from which it was officially separated by theTreaty of Versailles , and it became an increasingly unpleasant place for Jews, particularly after March 1933, when the local Nazi party won control of the city government. The synagogue thereafter was a target of twoarson attempts. Both were stopped by a localmilitia formed by the local Jewish population to protect the building. While theConstitution of the Free City of Danzig offered Danzig Jews greater protection than their brethren in Germany, Nazi sympathizers invaded the synagogue in August 1938 and trampled the Torah scrolls. The kehillas' leaders decided to safeguard some of their relics — the archives were shipped toJerusalem , the library toVilnius , and the museum to theUnited States . At the same time, mounting fiscal pressure forced the synagogue to sell the organs toKraków ,candlestick s to Warsaw, and the benches toNowy Port . This was not enough, and in early 1939 the synagogue was sold to the senate of Danzig. On15 April 1939 , the last service was held in the building, and soon thereafter the senate took control. A banner was hung on a fence surrounding the building with the text: "Come, lovely May, and free us from the Jews". On2 May , the Nazi-dominated government began demolishing the building.After the
German invasion of Poland on1 September 1939 , Nazi troops moved into the city, eradicating any resistance and claiming the city for Germany. During the Second World War most of the Jews of Danzig died inthe Holocaust , survivors mostly left Europe to settle inIsrael .The site of the synagogue is vacant. Part of the land is held by the new Gdańsk kehilla, part belongs to the
Urząd Ochrony Państwa (Office for State Protection) and on the rest atheatre is planned. There are no realistic plans to rebuild the synagogue.ee also
*
History of Jews in Poland References
*Polish|Wielka Synagoga w Gdańsku|
21 December 2006
*pl icon [http://gdansk.jewish.org.pl/index.php?lg=pl&kat=2&dzial=23&typ=1 Żydzi na Pomorzu] (Jews in Pomerania)External links
*pl icon [http://sabaoth.infoserve.pl/danzig-online/bud/synagoga.html Wielka Synagoga] - history and photos
* [http://www.jewishgen.org/Danzig/gallery.php?g=syn Great Synagogue] - recent pictures of the remains
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.