The synagogue in Łańcut was erected in 1761 on the site of a former wooden synagogue. The construction of the new brick synagogue was financed by the owner of the Łańcut estate, Stanisław Lubomirski.
The building was designed in the late Baroque style. The main hall was built below the level of the street, on a square plan with an architectural bimah in the middle. On the eastern wall is the aron ha-kodesh, which once was used to store Torah scrolls. The aron ha-kodesh is topped with wooden decalogue tablets surrounded by ornamentation. This decoration is the only wooden element surviving from the former furnishings. Above it there are hands in a gesture of blessing, which in turn are surrounded with a floral ornament topped with a crown.
The interior of the hall above the door and the altar niche is surrounded with a three-colour, richly moulded Syrian cornice. Above it, there are arcades with painted texts of Hebrew prayers recited during the holidays. The oldest ones on the eastern wall date from the 18th century, others from the 19th and some from the 20th century. The frames are inscribed with the names of the founders of each polychrome.
The space around the windows and above the arcades is full of stucco decorations dating from the second half of the 18th century. They include representations of animals as well as rich floral ornaments. Above the cornice, the signs of the zodiac in calendar order are painted in medallions. Above this there are paintings depicting Jewish festivals arranged chronologically according to the signs of the zodiac. For example, above the sign of the Gemini, there is a landscape full of greenery, symbolising the Feast of Weeks – Shavuot, during which the synagogue was decorated with greenery.
The prayer hall is topped with a barrel vault and a groin vault supported by four Corinthian columns connected with arcades. A bimah has been placed in the space between the columns. The bimah is covered with polychrome from the early 20th century depicting biblical scenes: the temptation of Adam in paradise, Cain and Abel, Noah's ark and the sacrifice of Isaac, as well as symbols: the menorah and four crowns for the Torah.
On the south-west of the synagogue, there is a small room called the Lublin Room. The room served as a place for community meetings and rabbinical court sessions. It was also a hall for daily prayers. On the vaulting of the Lublin Room, painted images of animals, including a lion, a deer and an eagle, as well as Hebrew inscriptions, can be seen.
In the western part of the building, there is a vestibule through which the visitors enter the main hall and the Lublin Room. This room houses the matzevot from the Jewish cemeteries in Łańcut that had been destroyed by the Germans and then discovered after the Second World War.
The synagogue was marked on an Austrian cadastral plan of 1849 (sheet no. 5)[1.1]
The Łańcut synagogue was set on fire by the Germans as early as 1939. Thanks to the timely intervention of the owner of the castle, Alfred Potocki, the Germans allowed the fire to be extinguished. However, all the wooden furnishings had been burnt down. A grain warehouse was located in the building, which remained there until 1956. The city authorities wanted to pull down the historic building, but this was prevented. In the 1960s, it was decided that the synagogue would be restored. After the renovation, it housed an exhibition of Łańcut Judaica, which had been saved by people in the city. On 10 April 1969, the synagogue was entered into the register of monuments under number 315. In 1973, the synagogue became a branch of the Castle Museum in Łańcut. In the years 1983–1990, a thorough renovation of the building was carried out. The historic polychromes were restored at that time.
Since 2013, the synagogue has been managed by the Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage. In July 2014, the Israeli company Bezeq donated a Torah Ark curtain to the Łańcut synagogue, which was officially hung on the aron ha-kodesh.
We encourage those interested in offering prayers in the synagogue or in taking a tour there to contact the Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage (tel. 22 436 60 00, E-mail: [email protected]).
- [1.1] Stadt Łańcut sammt der Ortschaft Kąty in Galizien, J. Sochar, L. Schottmann, ms., multicolour, 66 x 53, 7 sections, 1:2880. Archiwum Państwowe w Przemyślu, Archiwum Geodezyjne, 152.
