The Great Synagogue was built in 1746, near the Royal Castle. It was commonly referred to as a Magistrate synagogue (Grodzka synagogue). It burned down in 1894 but fortunately it was restored through great efforts. During World War II it was transferred by Germans into a warehouse. When the war ended, the building returned to the Kraków municipality. In 1974 it was passed on to the city. The art gallery exhibiting the objects of Jewish culture (judaica) was created after the major renovation and adaptation of the building in 1982. There is a memorial tablet in memory of 25 thousand exterminated Jews, founded by Ziomkowstwo Sądeczan in Israel. 

The building was erected approximately in 1780. Historical sources often mention the year 1746, however research proved, that the date appeared on one of the synagogue reading desk and was reported in a stocktaking carried on in 1889 under the supervision of Władysław Łuszczkiewicz, and then repeated many times. The building was erected on the plan of a rectangle of 25 x 19 m with walls 8 m high. It was covered by a high, broken roof called Polish. The vaulting of monastery type was sustained on four pillars. The baroque interior of the synagogue was sketched by Stanisław Wyspiański in 1889 (National Museum in Cracow). The synagogue’s interior consisted of the vestibule and court room downstairs and the gallery with separate entrance. After the fire of 1894 the synagogue was redecorated and given architectural features of that period, among others a projection above the main entrance and towers. The synagogue of Nowy Sącz was severely damaged during World War II. It was deprived of all its interior decoration and the equipment was robbed. It was used a store house for robbed Jewish property. Until 1974, when the Jewish kehilla in Cracow passed it over to the town of Nowy Sącz, it was used as a storehouse. Then it was decided to redecorate it and give it to the Regional Museum, which used it as an art gallery. The necessary documentation was done by the architect Zygmunt Lewczuk, and construction work was carried on by the Budimat Construction and Redecoration Cooperative from Nowy Sącz.[1.1] An entresol was built for museum and exhibition purposes, and the old prayer room was covered by coffered wooden ceiling with nine fields. It was supported by the pillars preserved, the gallery was adapted for storage of the museum’s exhibits, mainly pictures. Nowadays the old synagogue is the seat of the branch of the Regional Museum in Nowy Sącz. It houses the old and modern art gallery with works of local artists as well as artists from other regions. The prayer room is also used as a concert hall because of its excellent acoustics. Moreover, it contains a permanent exhibition concerning the history of Jews in Nowy Sącz entitled ‘They were here among us’.

The Synagogue was built out of brick, in the shape of a rectangle 25 x 19. A privilege to build the Synagogue clearly stated that the building must not have been higher than the height of all of the churches in town. This Hasidic prayer house was covered by a high, gable roof. On both sides of the front elevation one may see two square turrets.

 Above the main praying room there was a firmament of monastery type which consisted of nine parts and which was supported by four pillars. The columns of the bimah have survived. However, the niche for aron ha-kodesh no longer exists. The ceiling of the synagogue is new.