Great Synagogue in Plzeň
Friday, 10 June 2022 - 11:00 am (CET/MEZ) Berlin | Author/Destination: European Union / Europäische Union General
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© Otto Domes/cc-by-sa-4.0
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The Great Synagogue (
Czech : Velká Synagoga) in
Plzeň (Pilsen),
Czech Republic is the second largest
synagogue in Europe. A
Viennese architect Max Fleischer drew up the original plans for the synagogue in
Gothic style with
granite buttresses and twin 65-meter towers. The cornerstone was laid on 2 December 1888 and that was about as far as it got. City councillors rejected the plan in a clear case of tower envy as they felt that the grand erection would compete with the nearby
Cathedral of St. Bartholomew .
Emmanuel Klotz put forward a new design in 1890 retaining the original ground plan and hence the cornerstone, but lowering the towers by 20m and creating the distinctive look combining Romantic and neo-Renaissance styles covered with Oriental decorations and a giant Star of David . The design was quickly approved and master builder Rudolf Štech completed work in 1893 for the bargain price of 162,138 guilders . At the time the Jewish community in Plzeň numbered some 2,000.
© panoramio.com - Mister No/cc-by-3.0
The mixture of styles is truly bewildering; from the
onion domes of a
Russian Orthodox church, to the Arabic style ceiling, to the distinctly Indian looking
Torah ark . The synagogue was used without interruption until the
Nazi occupation of
World War II . The synagogue was used as a storage facility during the war and was thereby spared from destruction. The Jewish community that retook possession of the synagogue at the end of hostilities had been decimated by the
Holocaust . The last regular service was held in 1973, when the synagogue was closed down and fell into disrepair under communist rule.
Restoration was undertaken from 1995–98, and the synagogue was reopened on 11 February 1998 at a cost of 63 million
Kč . The central hall is now often used for concerts from such legends as Joseph Malowany, Peter Dvorský, or Karel Gott, while the walls host temporary photographic exhibitions of various causes. The synagogue is still used for worship, but only in what was formerly the winter prayer room. The present number of Pilsner Jews is a little over 70.
Read more on
VisitPilsen.eu – Great Synagogue and
Wikiepdia Great Synagogue (
Smart Traveler App by U.S. Department of State -
Weather report by weather.com -
Johns Hopkins University & Medicine - Coronavirus Resource Center -
Global Passport Power Rank -
Democracy Index -
GDP according to IMF, UN, and World Bank -
Global Competitiveness Report -
Corruption Perceptions Index -
Press Freedom Index -
World Justice Project - Rule of Law Index -
UN Human Development Index -
Global Peace Index -
Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index ). Photos by Wikimedia Commons. If you have a suggestion, critique, review or comment to this blog entry, we are looking forward to receive your e-mail at
comment@wingsch.net . Please name the headline of the blog post to which your e-mail refers to in the subject line.
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