(JHE) — Renovation work on the 19th century synagogue in Koprivnica will continue, thanks to an allocation of around 2.5 million kuna (approx. €330,000).
The funds will be used for project documentation, protective measures, and structural work on the building, which is now used as a cultural centre, the City said on its web site November 21 announcing the signing of a contract with a contractor.
The funds were allocated to the city by the Ministry of Culture and Media, from a grant by the European Union Solidarity Fund (EUSF) for restoration and repair work of damage caused by the earthquakes in Croatia at the end of December 2020.
“The earthquakes […] caused additional structural damage, and as a result, the building needs a complete structural repair,” Milan Pezelj, head of the Conservation Department in Bjelovar, who is supervising the renovation, said in the announcement.
Mirko Patrčević, a representative of the project designers, was quoted in local media as saying that the forthcoming renovation would be “a construction intervention, rehabilitation of the load-bearing structure with the aim of improving the existing load-bearing capacity of the building, stabilization of the walls damaged after the earthquake, the roof and the mezzanine. This is the first stage of improving the carrying capacity in accordance with today’s technical regulation.”
Gradual restoration work has been going on for 15 years on the synagogue, which was built in the mid-1870s to a neo-Moorish design by architects Julius Deutsch and Slavko Lowy. During World War II it was used as a prison and later as a warehouse and industrial site. In 1996 a plaque was put up to honor Holocaust victims.
In 2019 rehabilitation of the ground floor took place, including removal of the old brick floor, waterproofing, and installing new wooden flooring.
The synagogue was officially inaugurated as the Krešimir Švarc Cultural Center in November 2019.
In the city’s November 21 announcement, Mayor Mišel Jakšić called the new allocation “an extremely important and significant event for the cultural offer and cultural heritage of our city.” He said “the light renovation that has been going on for about 15 years is now gaining full speed and we are convinced that now the synagogue will obtain a completely new splendor and demonstrate everything that we have in our vision.”