The Łańcut Synagogue is a
Baroque synagogue in
Łańcut
Łańcut (, approximately "wine-suit"; yi, לאַנצוט, Lantzut; uk, Ла́ньцут, Lánʹtsut; german: Landshut) is a town in south-eastern Poland, with 18,004 inhabitants, as of 2 June 2009. Situated in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship (si ...
,
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is divided into Voivodeships of Poland, sixteen voivodeships and is the fifth most populous member state of the European Union (EU), with over 38 mill ...
. The Łańcut Synagogue is a rare surviving example of the vaulted synagogues with a ''bimah-tower'', that were built throughout the Polish lands in masonry from the sixteenth through the early nineteenth centuries.
The
synagogue was renovated in the mid-20th century, and underwent renovations in the years 1983-1990.
Architecture
The synagogue is a simple Baroque, masonry building with a vestibule and side room, main hall and a women's balcony above the vestibule reached by an exterior staircase.
[Carol Herselle Krinsky, ''Synagogues of Europe: Architecture, History, Meaning'', 1985, 1996, p. 209–211 ff, ] The windows of the main hall are unusually large for a Polish synagogue; Krinsky believes that this may reflect the security of the Jews in Łańcut, who lived under the protection of the landowning family.
The synagogue is built with eight, barrel-vaulted bays around a central
Bimah, the four, massive, masonry pillars of which support the ceiling and roof. Painted, decorative plasterwork adorns the pillar capitals, ceiling, and walls. The floor in the restored building is made of concrete.
The walls are decorated reproductions of the pre-war paintings. They feature traditional Jewish subjects, such as Noah and the Ark, symbols of the
Zodiac
The zodiac is a belt-shaped region of the sky that extends approximately 8° north or south (as measured in celestial latitude) of the ecliptic, the apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere over the course of the year. The p ...
, and images of musical instruments mentioned in the
Book of Psalms
The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived f ...
.
[Carol Herselle Krinsky, ''Synagogues of Europe: Architecture, History, Meaning'', 1985, 1996, p. 209–211, . ]
Images
Image:Łańcut synagoga 01.JPG, Exterior
Image:Łańcut synagoga 03.jpg, Stucco
Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and a ...
decorations of Bimah
Image:Łańcut synagoga 04.jpg, Animal and landscape wall decoration of women's section
Image:Łańcut synagoga 05.jpg, Ornate frescoes with Hebrew texts
References
External links
*
Jewish Memorials in Eastern Poland
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lancut Synagogue
Former synagogues in Poland
Jewish museums in Poland
Religious buildings and structures completed in 1761
Baroque synagogues in Poland
18th-century synagogues
Synagogues preserved as museums
Łańcut County
Buildings and structures in Podkarpackie Voivodeship
Museums in Podkarpackie Voivodeship