The Great Synagogue of Warsaw () was a former

Orthodox Jewish Orthodox Judaism is a collective term for the traditionalist branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as literally revealed by God on Mount Sinai and faithfully tra ...

congregation and

synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

, that was located on Tłomackie street, in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

, in the

Masovian Voivodeship Masovian Voivodeship or Mazowieckie Province (, ) and any variation thereof, is a Voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship (province) in east-central Poland, containing Poland's capital Warsaw. Masovian Voivodeship has an area of and had a 2019 po ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. Designed by Leandro Marconi and completed in the Neoclassical style in 1878, at the time of its opening, it was the largest Jewish house of worship in the world. The grand synagogue served as a house of prayer until World War II when it was destroyed by

Nazis Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

on May 16, 1943.

History

The Great Synagogue was built by the Warsaw's Jewish community between 1875 and 1878 at Tłomackie street, in the south-eastern tip of the district in which the Jews were allowed to settle by the Russian Imperial authorities of

Congress Poland Congress Poland or Congress Kingdom of Poland, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland, was a polity created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna as a semi-autonomous Polish state, a successor to Napoleon's Duchy of Warsaw. It was established w ...

. The main architect was Leandro Marconi. It was opened on 26 September 1878 in celebration of

Rosh Hashanah Rosh Hashanah (, , ) is the New Year in Judaism. The Hebrew Bible, biblical name for this holiday is Yom Teruah (, , ). It is the first of the High Holy Days (, , 'Days of Awe"), as specified by Leviticus 23:23–25, that occur in the late summe ...

. The synagogue served the acculturated members of Warsaw's Jewish population. Like other such prayer houses in Central and Eastern Europe, its worship was conducted in a relatively modernized fashion, although it did not approach ideological religious reform. Sermons were delivered in Polish rather than Yiddish, an all-male choir accompanied the service, and an organ had been installed, which played only at weddings. Liturgy and other principled issues remained wholly untouched. After the

Warsaw Ghetto Uprising The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising was the 1943 act of Jewish resistance in the Warsaw Ghetto in German-occupied Poland during World War II to oppose Nazi Germany's final effort to transport the remaining ghetto population to the gas chambers of the ...

, on May 16, 1943, the SS blew up the building. It was not rebuilt after the war, when few Jews remained or returned to Warsaw after the Holocaust by the Nazis. It was blown up personally by SS-Gruppenführer Jürgen Stroop on 16 May 1943. This was the last act of destruction by the Germans in suppressing the Revolt of the Jewish ghetto in Warsaw. Stroop later recalled: Since the 1980s, the site was redeveloped for construction of a large

skyscraper A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Most modern sources define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition, other than being very tall high-rise bui ...

, devoted mostly to office space. It was once known as the Golden Skyscraper and is currently commonly referred to as the Blue Skyscraper (). A

scale model A scale model is a physical model that is geometrically similar to an object (known as the ''prototype''). Scale models are generally smaller than large prototypes such as vehicles, buildings, or people; but may be larger than small protot ...

of the Great Synagogue is displayed in an exhibit at the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews.

Gallery

Nowa synagoga w Warszawie, inaugurowana uroczyście d. 26 b. m. (58848).jpg, Synagogue just after it was built in 1878 Wielka Synagoga na Tłomackiem pomiędzy 1915 a 1918.jpg, Photograph of the Great Synagogue, c. 1915 Tlomackie synagoga 03.jpg, Plan of the structure Great Synagogue in Warsaw (03).jpg, Interior Tlomackie synagoga.jpg, View from Tłomackie street Baruch Steinberg Wielka Synagoga na Tłomackiem.jpg, Rabbi Baruch Steinberg speaking before Great Synagogue (1933), reading roll call of the fallen, organized by Union of Jewish Fighters for Polish Independence Wielka Nieobecna Replika Wielkiej Synagogi na Tłomackiem 2013.JPG, Replica of the synagogue built in Warsaw to mark 70th anniversary of its destruction (2013) Warsawsynagoga1.jpg, Model of synagogue in Anu – Museum of the Jewish People, Tel-Aviv File:Blekitny Wiezowiec in Warsaw.jpg, Former site of the synagogue, the Blue Skyscraper

References

External links

* * {{Authority control 1878 establishments in Europe 19th-century synagogues in Poland Ashkenazi Jewish culture in Poland Ashkenazi synagogues Buildings and structures demolished in 1943 Former Reform synagogues in Poland Former synagogues in Warsaw Neoclassical architecture in Warsaw Neoclassical synagogues Synagogues completed in 1878 Synagogues in Poland destroyed by Nazi Germany The Holocaust in Warsaw Warsaw Ghetto Uprising World War II sites in Warsaw

History

Gallery

See also

References

External links