The derelict former synagogue in the town of Slomniki, north of Krakow in southern Poland, will be restored by the town for use as a cultural center with an exhibition on the history of local Jews.
According to a July 20 article in the newspaper Dziennik Polski and cited by Virtual Shtetl, the project (whose eventual costs are estimated at approximately $350,000) will come about as result of an agreement between the Slomniki Town Hall and the Jewish Community in Krakow, which will lease the building to the town for a nominal sum.
The Krakow Jewish community regained ownership in 1997, when it housed a plant manufacturing condoms. Since then it has stood empty.
When Zbigniew Gurak held the office of the town’s mayor, the town wanted to lease the building as a health care center. However, the councilmen refused to invest in the building which was not their property. Presently, the synagogue will be handed over to the town for a dime.
Słomniki local authorities want the building to serve for cultural purposes. A branch office of the cultural center will be opened there. In the synagogue, art studios, an exhibition and conference room as well as a concert hall, where performances will be staged, will be housed. Before the place revives again, the building needs to undergo restoration works. The interior of the building is unfinished. All fixtures and fittings need to be assembled and some walls have to be pulled down. The facades and the surrounding area of the synagogue will be restored, and decorative elements, such as pillars and cornices, will be exposed.
2 comments on “Synagogue in Slomniki, Poland, to be Restored by Town”
no prablem we bless you to
Congratulations to the Slomniki Council Authority and the Jewish Community of Krakow on the restoration of this wonderful example of Polish synagogue heritage.
Let us hope and pray that very soon this will be a thriving, active and fast-growing Jewish community as it was in years past.
May G-d bless you all in Poland.