Our information about this house of prayer comes from two sources: the first one is a photograph printed in the “Nasz Przegląd Ilustrowany” magazine entitled Stylowa bóżnica w domu przy ul. Gęsiej 12 [Stylish synagogue in the house at ul. Gęsia 12][1.1], owing to which we can use the second source, i.e. the Lindley’s Plan on a scale of 1:250. The plan allows us to determine the size and partially the outer form of this building. It had a plan of about 8 x 11.45 metres, and the entrance to the south. It seems that the projection from the eastern side, marked on the plan[1.2], might have included a niche for Torah Ark. If it was not for the photograph in “Nasz Przegląd Ilustrowany,” we would not be able to identify the house of prayer basing only on the address, as the plan does not provide information on the function of private buildings. In turn, plans on smaller scales in this place show a meaningless bend of outline which could not be associated with the photograph.

The synagogue at this address can be found in the register of 1869. Its oriental costume could have existed even from its erection; such forms of windows or framings existed even in the first half of the 19th century. Judging from the date of execution of the relevant part of the plan, we can conclude that the outline of the synagogue did not change after 1890 (the plan was updated in 1895, 1901, 1902 and 1908). In the years from 1890 to 1908, the building was owned by Szyja Gerszon Munk.

Excerpt from a book by Eleonora Bergman “Nie masz boźnicy powszechnej. Synagogi i domy modlitwy w Warszawie od końca XVIII do początku XXI wieku” with the consent of the Author and the Publisher. All rights reserved, including the right to use the text on other websites.