The former synagogue in Barczewo has been officially inaugurated as a multi-purpose district cultural center following the completion this past summer of the more than €500,000 first phase of its renovation.
A concert highlighted an official inaugural event December 10, which was attended by local civic leaders and VIPs. The building will open to the general public at the end of the month.
“This first meeting by invitation is a form of thanks to all the people who were and are involved in this project, thanks to whom the building has regained its former glory, and a new stage in its history can begin,” District Administer Andrzej Abako said.
The synagogue, with a flat roof and large arched windows, was built in the 1890s and closed for worship and sold to private owners in 1937. It survived WW2 and is the only standing synagogue building in the local Warmia region in the north of Poland.
As we posted earlier, the Olsztyn county district administration took over the ownership of the building in 2021. It had been administered as an art gallery since 1980 by the Pojezierze Social and Cultural Association.
The first stage of work included the renovation of the roof and strengthening of the foundations as well as renovation of the interior. Work was carried out thanks to an allocation of 1,274,000 zloty (c. €286,000) by the Government Program for the Reconstruction of Monuments and the Most the Most grant of 1 million zloty (c. €225,000).
A second stage of renovation work is under way and expected to be completed by the middle of 2025. According to local media this primarily entails the renovation of the façade, renovation of the external woodwork of the synagogue building, conservation work on the mikveh, and reconstruction of an auxiliary building, as well as development of the area around the synagogue. The works are financed from the Government Program for the Reconstruction of Monuments (approx. PLN 1.2 million) and the district budget.
See local media about the opening
See our 2023 post about the start of the renovation
Watch a video of the inauguration ceremony: