Tykocin Synagogue

The Tykocin Synagogue is an historic former Jewish synagogue building, located in Tykocin, Podlaskie Voivodeship, Poland.^[2] The synagogue was completed in 1643, in the Mannerist-early Baroque style.^[3]

Disused as a synagogue during World War II, the building was used for profane purposes, restored during the 1970s, and repurposed as a Jewish museum.^[1]

During the Nazi occupation of Poland in 1941, the synagogue was desecrated and then set up as a warehouse. After the end of the war, it remained in use as a warehouse for fertilizers. In 1965, a fire damaged the interiors.

The synagogue was thoroughly restored in the late 1970s. The historic wall paintings, most of which are decorative texts of Hebrew prayers, were restored. The elaborate, decorative ceiling was not reconstructed although some idea of the style can be gleaned from the design of the Torah Ark.^[2]

A former Beit Medrash (study and prayer hall) located across the street has been restored and is in use as a city museum.^[2]

Although no Jews now live in Tykocin,^{[citation needed]} 40,000 tourists a year come to see the old synagogue, which remains "in lonely and unexpected splendor".^[4] The tourism has generated economic activity, including a cafe serving "Jewish-style" food and a bed-and-breakfast.^[4]

• 
• 
• 
  Bimah
• 
• 
  Ceiling
• 
• 
  Tallit
• 
  Tallit and Hanukiah
• 
  Torah ark
• 
  Torah ark closeup
• 
• 
• 

1. ^ ^{a b} "Great Synagogue in Tykocin". Historical synagogues in Europe. Foundation for Jewish Heritage and the Center for Jewish Art at Hebrew University of Jerusalem. n.d. Retrieved July 26, 2024.
2. ^ ^{a b c} Gruber, Samuel; Myers, Phyllis (November 1995). "Survey of Historic Jewish Monuments in Poland,". Report to the Presidents Commission for the Preservation of America's Heritage Abroad. Jewish Heritage Council World Monuments Fund. pp. 44–5.
3. ^ Dariusz Stankiewicz. "Tykocin-synagoga" (in Polish). bialystok.jewish.org.pl. Retrieved December 28, 2009.
4. ^ ^{a b} Gruber, Ruth Ellen (2002). Virtually Jewish: Reinventing Jewish Culture in Europe. University of California Press. p. 165. ISBN 978-0520213630.

• v
• t
• e

• Kraków
  • Izaak
  • Remah
  • Tempel
• Lubin
  • Chachmei Yeshiva
• Oświęcim
• Remah
• Warsaw
  • Beit Warszawa
  • Chabad-Lubavitch
  • Nożyk
• White Stork (Wrocław)

• List of active synagogues
• List of wooden synagogues