The Kupa Synagogue (), also known as the Synagogue of the Poor (), is a former

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

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 is located at 8 Warszauera Street, in the historic

Kazimierz Kazimierz (; ; ) is a historical district of Kraków and Kraków Old Town, Poland. From its inception in the 14th century to the early 19th century, Kazimierz was an independent city, a royal city of the Crown of the Polish Kingdom, located sou ...

district of

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

, in the

Lesser Poland Voivodeship Lesser Poland Voivodeship ( ) is a voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship in southern Poland. It has an area of , and a population of 3,404,863 (2019). Its capital and largest city is Kraków. The province's name recalls the traditional name of a h ...

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 ...

. The 17th-century former synagogue is located in a neighborhood earmarked in 1495 by King

John I Albert John I Albert (; 27 December 1459 – 17 June 1501) was King of Poland Poland was ruled at various times either by dukes and princes (10th to 14th centuries) or by kings (11th to 18th centuries). During the latter period, a tradition of Roy ...

for the Jewish community, that was transferred from the budding

Old Town In a city or town, the old town is its historic or original core. Although the city is usually larger in its present form, many cities have redesignated this part of the city to commemorate its origins. In some cases, newer developments on t ...

. Devastated 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 ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the former synagogue was used for profane purposes until 1991; and has subsequently operated as a

Jewish museum A Jewish museum is a museum which focuses upon Jews and may refer seek to explore and share the Jewish experience in a given area. Notable Jewish museums include: Albania * Solomon Museum, Berat Australia * Jewish Museum of Australia, Melbourn ...

since 1996. The building served Kraków's Jewish community as one of the venues for religious ceremonies and cultural festivals, notably the annual

Jewish Culture Festival in Kraków The Jewish Culture Festival in Kraków (, ) is an annual cultural event organized since 1988 in the once Jewish district of Kazimierz (part of Kraków) by the Jewish Culture Festival Society headed by Janusz Makuch, a self-described '' meshugeneh ...

History

The former synagogue was founded in 1643 by the Kazimierz Jewish district's

kehilla Kehilla or kehillah () means "congregation" in Hebrew. The term may refer to: *Kehilla (modern), the elected local communal Jewish structure in Eastern Europe (Poland's Second Republic, the Baltic States, Ukrainian People's Republic) during the i ...

, as a foundation of the local

qahal The ''qahal'' (), sometimes spelled ''kahal'', was a theocratic organizational structure in ancient Israelite society according to the Hebrew Bible, See column345-6 and an Ashkenazi Jewish system of a self-governing community or kehila from ...

. A contribution of 200 zlotys by the Jewish goldsmiths' guild helped to bring the construction to its successful completion. The synagogue was built in a

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

style with a square prayer hall inside. Many renovations occurred throughout the centuries. In 1830-1834 the two-storey annex was added with entrance hall and washrooms. In 1861 the western wing was built. At the end of the 19th century, the former synagogue was joined with the adjacent building. The former synagogue was burned down by a Polish mob during the Kraków pogrom, shortly after the end of

, and was subsequently meticulously restored. The northern wall of the former synagogue connected with the remnants of the medieval city-wall of Kazimerz, while its southern flank faced Warchauera Street. The colorful interior of the former synagogue served as an exhibition hall and the venue for musical events. The former synagogue was richly decorated with paintings from the 1920s featured on walls, the ceiling and in the

women's section The women's page (sometimes called home page or women's section) of a newspaper was a section devoted to covering news assumed to be of interest to women. Women's pages started out in the 19th century as society pages and eventually morphed into ...

. The depictions included the holy places of

Hebron Hebron (; , or ; , ) is a Palestinian city in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Hebron is capital of the Hebron Governorate, the largest Governorates of Palestine, governorate in the West Bank. With a population of 201,063 in ...

Tiberias Tiberias ( ; , ; ) is a city on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee in northern Israel. A major Jewish center during Late Antiquity, it has been considered since the 16th century one of Judaism's Four Holy Cities, along with Jerusalem, Heb ...

, and

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

. There were also Biblical scenes and illustrations to verses in

Psalms The Book of Psalms ( , ; ; ; ; , in Islam also called Zabur, ), also known as the Psalter, is the first book of the third section of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) called ('Writings'), and a book of the Old Testament. The book is an anthology of B ...

, such as the painting showing people standing by the rivers of

Babylon Babylon ( ) was an ancient city located on the lower Euphrates river in southern Mesopotamia, within modern-day Hillah, Iraq, about south of modern-day Baghdad. Babylon functioned as the main cultural and political centre of the Akkadian-s ...

(), or musical instruments (). Another painting depicted Noah's Ark including the figure of

Noah Noah (; , also Noach) appears as the last of the Antediluvian Patriarchs (Bible), patriarchs in the traditions of Abrahamic religions. His story appears in the Hebrew Bible (Book of Genesis, chapters 5–9), the Quran and Baháʼí literature, ...

– quite unusual since the use of human images was very rare in Jewish art. The signs of the

Zodiac The zodiac is a belt-shaped region of the sky that extends approximately 8° north and south celestial latitude of the ecliptic – the apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere over the course of the year. Within this zodiac ...

are painted over the women's gallery. The artist is unidentified. There are also remnants of earlier paintings from the 17th to 18th centuries. The older drawings are ornamental, with leaves and fruit surrounding texts. A carved wood and stucco

Torah The Torah ( , "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. The Torah is also known as the Pentateuch () ...

Ark, from the early 17th century, adorned the interior. The Kupa Synagogue was entered into the register of historical monuments under the number A-700 on July 30, 1986.

Gallery

Kupa (Kasa) Synagogue, 27 Miodowa street, Kazimierz, Kraków, Poland.jpg, View from Miodowa Street, entrance to synagogue Kupa_(Kasa)_Synagogue,_interior_E,_27_Miodowa_street,_Kazimierz,_Kraków,_Poland.jpg, The synagogue interior and Torah ark (Aron ha-Kodesh) Kupa (Kasa) Synagogue, interior W, 27 Miodowa street, Kazimierz, Kraków, Poland.jpg, A view of the synagogue gallery

References

Bibliography

* * * * *

External links

*
Virtual tour at YouTube.com
{{Authority control 1643 establishments in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth 17th-century synagogues in Poland 20th-century attacks on Jewish institutions Ashkenazi synagogues in Poland Baroque synagogues in Poland Former synagogues in Poland Jewish museums in Poland Moorish Revival architecture in Poland Moorish Revival synagogues Museums in Poland Synagogues completed in 1643 Synagogues in Kraków Synagogues preserved as museums

History

Gallery

See also

References

Bibliography

External links