Dolní Kounice Synagogue

Former synagogue, now museum, in the Czech Republic

49°4′12″N 16°27′49″E / 49.07000°N 16.46361°E / 49.07000; 16.46361ArchitectureStyleBaroqueDate established1581 (as a congregation)Completed1655MaterialsStone

The Dolní Kounice Synagogue (Czech: Synagoga v Dolních Kounicích) is a former Orthodox Jewish synagogue, located in Dolní Kounice in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. The building was completed in 1655 and was used as a synagogue by the Ashkenazi congregation until 1939. The building has been used as a Jewish museum since 1994.^[1]

History

First traces of Jewish settlement in Dolní Kounice are from half of 15th century. The first written mention of a synagogue here comes from 1581. The old synagogue was located on eastern part of the village and was destroyed by Swedish troops during the Thirty Years' War in 1645.

A new one has been built in the middle of the new ghetto in 1652–1655. It was built in the Baroque style and is one of the oldest synagogues in Moravia.^[2] The building has rectangular ground plan and two floors. In the middle of the 19th century, new tract was added and used to extends tribune for women.

In the early 1940s, Nazis closed down the religious services and moved the decorations to the Jewish Museum in Prague. After the war the building was used as storehouse. In 1991 it was returned, as a part of restitutions, to the Jewish community in Brno. In 1994 the former synagogue was reconstructed with the support of the World Monuments Fund and commenced operation as a museum.^[3] The synagogue hosts small collection of Jewish historical artefacts and art exhibitions.

Gallery

References

^ "Synagogue in Dolní Kounice". Center for Jewish Art. Foundation for Jewish Heritage and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. n.d. Retrieved June 1, 2024.
^ "Historie města" (in Czech). Město Dolní Kounice. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
^ "Dolni Kounice Synagogue". World Monuments Fund. June 2018. Retrieved June 1, 2024.