Before the Nazi German

invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Second Polish Republic, Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak R ...

in 1939, almost every Polish town had a

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 ...

or a Jewish house of prayer of some kind. The 1939 statistics recorded the total of 1,415 Jewish communities in the country just before the outbreak of war, each composed of at least 100 members (Gruber, 1995). Every one of them owned at least one synagogue and a Jewish cemetery nearby. Approximately 9.8% of all believers in Poland were Jewish (according to 1931 census). The list of actives synagogues in Poland cannot possibly include the hundreds of synagogue buildings which still stand today in about 250 cities and towns across the country – seventy years after

the Holocaust in Poland The Holocaust saw the ghettoization, robbery, deportation and mass murder of Jews, alongside other groups under Nazi racial theories, similar racial pretexts in Occupation of Poland (1939–1945), occupied Poland by the Nazi Germany. Over th ...

which claimed the lives of over 90% of Polish Jewry. Devoid of their original hosts, many synagogue buildings house libraries and smaller museums as in

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 ...

Łańcut Łańcut (, ; ; ) is a town in south-eastern Poland, with 18,004 inhabitants, as of 2 June 2009. Situated in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship (since 1999), it is the Capital (political), capital of Łańcut County. History Archeological investigat ...

Włodawa Włodawa () is a town in eastern Poland on the Bug River, close to the borders with Belarus and Ukraine. It is the seat of Włodawa County, situated in the Lublin Voivodeship. it has a population of 13,500. Geography The town lies along the borde ...

Tykocin Tykocin (; ) is a small town in north-eastern Poland, with 2,010 inhabitants (2012), located on the Narew river, in Białystok County in the Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is one of the oldest towns in the region, with its historic center designated a ...

Zamość Zamość (; ; ) is a historical city in southeastern Poland. It is situated in the southern part of Lublin Voivodeship, about from Lublin, from Warsaw. In 2021, the population of Zamość was 62,021. Zamość was founded in 1580 by Jan Zamoyski ...

Radzanów Radzanów may refer to the following places: *Radzanów, Lublin Voivodeship (east Poland) *Radzanów, Białobrzegi County in Masovian Voivodeship (east-central Poland) * Radzanów, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship (south-central Poland) *Radzanów, Mła ...

, but many more serve as apartment buildings, shops, gyms and whatever else community needs require. This isn't necessarily bad however, because the synagogues which remain empty are usually worse off due to lack of maintenance.

Active synagogues in Poland

The Union of Jewish Religious Communities in Poland (ZGWŻ) with branches in nine metropolitan centres helps the descendants of

the Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

survivors in the process of recovery and restoration of synagogue buildings once owned by the Jewish

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 ...

(קהלה), and nationalized in

Communist Poland The Polish People's Republic (1952–1989), formerly the Republic of Poland (1947–1952), and also often simply known as Poland, was a country in Central Europe that existed as the predecessor of the modern-day democratic Republic of Poland. ...

. The list of active and rededicated synagogues in the country include: *

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 ...

Nożyk Synagogue The Nożyk Synagogue () is an Orthodox Jewish congregation and synagogue, located at 6 Twarda Street, in the Śródmieście district of Warsaw, in the Masovian Voivodeship of Poland. Designed by Karol Kozłowski in the Romanesque Revival and ...

** Chabad Lubavitch Synagogue '' (pl)'' ** Beit Warszawa Synagogue - Związek Postępowych Gmin Żydowskich w Polsce *
Masorti Synagogue
- Synagoga konserwatywna w Warszawie *

** Remuh Synagogue ** Tempel Synagogue **

Izaak Synagogue The Izaak Synagogue (), formally known as the Isaak Jakubowicz Synagogue, is an Orthodox Jewish congregation and synagogue, located at 14 Kupa Street, in the historic Kazimierz district of Kraków, in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship of Poland. De ...

** See also

Synagogues of Kraków The synagogues of Kraków are a collection of monuments of Jewish sacred architecture in Poland. The seven main synagogues of the Jewish District of Kazimierz constitute the largest such complex in Europe next to Prague. These are: # The Old Syn ...

for a more complete list of 124 synagogue buildings with description of selected historical monuments of Jewish

sacred architecture Sacral architecture (also known as sacred architecture or religious architecture) is a religious architectural practice concerned with the design and construction of places of worship or sacred or intentional space, such as churches, mosques, ...

in the city *

Łódź Łódź is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located south-west of Warsaw. Łódź has a population of 655,279, making it the country's List of cities and towns in Polan ...

** Reicher Synagogue '' (pl)'' ** Pomorska Street Synagogue '' (pl)'' *

Lublin Lublin is List of cities and towns in Poland, the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the centre of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin i ...

** Chewra Nosim (Chevrat Nossim) Synagogue '' (pl)'' ** Chachmei Lublin Yeshiva Synagogue (Yeshivat Chachamei Lublin) '' (pl)'' ** New Jewish Cemetery Synagogue '' (pl)'' *

Wrocław Wrocław is a city in southwestern Poland, and the capital of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. It is the largest city and historical capital of the region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the Oder River in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Eu ...

** White Stork Synagogue ** Small Synagogue '' (pl)'' *

Gdańsk Gdańsk is a city on the Baltic Sea, Baltic coast of northern Poland, and the capital of the Pomeranian Voivodeship. With a population of 486,492, Data for territorial unit 2261000. it is Poland's sixth-largest city and principal seaport. Gdań ...

** New Synagogue '' (pl)'' *

Oświęcim Synagogue The Oświęcim Synagogue, also called the Auschwitz Synagogue and officially called the Chevra Lomdei Mishnayot Synagogue (; ), is an Orthodox Jewish congregation and synagogue, located at Plac Księdza Jana Skarbka 5, Oświęcim (), in the Les ...

(Chevrah Lomdei Mishnayot Synagogue),

Oświęcim Oświęcim (; ; ; ) is a town in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship in southern Poland, situated southeast of Katowice, near the confluence of the Vistula (''Wisła'') and Soła rivers. Oświęcim dates back to the 12th century, when it was an im ...

* Bajs Nusn (Beys Nusn) Synagogue '' (pl)'',

Nowy Sącz Nowy Sącz (; ; ; ; ) is a city in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship of southern Poland. It is the district capital of Nowy Sącz County as a separate administrative unit. With a population of 83,116 as of 2021, it is the largest city in the Beskid S ...

* Bobowa Synagogue '' (pl)'',

Bobowa Bobowa (, ''Bobov'') is a small town in Gorlice County, southern Poland. Administratively part of the Lesser Polish Voivodeship, it is situated west of Gorlice and south-east of the regional capital Kraków. It was formerly a village, but was ...

* Leżajsk Synagogue '' (pl)'',

Leżajsk Leżajsk (; ; ), officially the Free Royal City of Leżajsk (), is a town in southeastern Poland with 13,871 inhabitants. Since 1999, it has been situated in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship and is the capital of Leżajsk County. Leżajsk is famed f ...

* Lelów Synagogue '' (pl)'',

Lelów Lelów ( - ''Lelov'') is a village in Częstochowa County, Silesian Voivodeship, in southern Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Lelów. It lies on the Białka river, approximately east of Częstochowa and ...

* Bielsko-Biała Synagogue '' (pl)'',

Bielsko-Biała Bielsko-Biała (; ; , ; ) is a city in southern Poland, with a population of approximately 166,765 as of December 2022, making it the List of cities and towns in Poland#Largest cities and towns by population, 22nd largest city in Poland, and an a ...

* Gliwice Synagogue '' (pl)'',

Gliwice Gliwice (; , ) is a city in Upper Silesia, in southern Poland. The city is located in the Silesian Highlands, on the Kłodnica river (a tributary of the Oder River, Oder). It lies approximately 25 km west from Katowice, the regional capital ...

* Katowice Synagogue '' (pl)'',

Katowice Katowice (, ) is the capital city of the Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland and the central city of the Katowice urban area. As of 2021, Katowice has an official population of 286,960, and a resident population estimate of around 315,000. K ...

* Legnica Synagogue '' (pl)'',

Legnica Legnica (; , ; ; ) is a city in southwestern Poland, in the central part of Lower Silesia, on the Kaczawa River and the Czarna Woda. As well as being the seat of the county, since 1992 the city has been the seat of the Diocese of Legnica. Le ...

* Poznań Synagogue,

Poznań Poznań ( ) is a city on the Warta, River Warta in west Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business center and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John's ...

* Szczecin Synagogue,

Szczecin Szczecin ( , , ; ; ; or ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the Poland-Germany border, German border, it is a major port, seaport, the la ...

* Wałbrzych Synagogue,

Wałbrzych Wałbrzych (; ; or ''Walmbrich''; or ) is a city located in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in southwestern Poland, seat of Wałbrzych County. Wałbrzych lies approximately southwest of the voivodeship capital Wrocław and about from the Czec ...

* Żary Synagogue,

Żary Żary (, , , ) is a town in western Poland with 37,502 inhabitants (2019), situated in the Lubusz Voivodeship. It is the administrative seat of the Żary County and of the Gmina Żary within the county, though the town is not part of the gmina (c ...

Włodawa Synagogue The Włodawa Synagogue () is a former Orthodox Jewish congregation and synagogue complex, located at 5-7 Czerwonego Krzyża Street, in Włodawa, in the Lublin Voivodeship of Poland. The synagogue complex comprises the Włodawa Great Synagogue ...

Notes

External links

Chabad-Lubavitch Centers in Poland

9 Illustrious Synagogues You Can Visit in Poland
{{Jews and Judaism in Poland * List

Synagogues 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 ...

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 ...