Březnice

The synagogue in Březnice

The synagogue was built in the middle of the second, larger, square in 1725. Following the destructive fire of 1821, it was rebuilt in its original size and form thanks to the help of the Count of Kolowrat. As a sign of gratitude, the Kolowrat family’s coat of arms was placed inside the synagogue. The main hall in the building’s northern part features a barrel-vaulted ceiling with lunettes and a separate entrance. The women’s gallery originally ran along the southern side; the balcony on the western side was probably built in 1874, when the bimah was moved to the east and new rows of benches were added. The stained-glass windows are the work of inventor Emanuel Červenka, the son of the Březnice shamash, and the decorative wall paintings are by academically trained painter Ladislav Kuba; both date from the first decade of the 20th century. Above the Aron Kodesh is a Hebrew inscription with the verse “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself” (Leviticus 19:18). The southern part of the building had a separate entrance to a hallway leading to the quarters of the Jewish school’s teacher. On the synagogue’s upper floor were the women’s gallery and a one-room school. Services were held until the Second World War. After the war, the building was used as a storehouse. After the synagogue was returned to the Jewish Community in Prague in 1994, the building underwent extensive renovation works based on a project by architect M. Sedlák. The building’s preservation could be completed thanks to the “Revitalization of Jewish Monuments” project, which expended a total of CZK 19,221,000 in Březnice.