Restoration work on the Moorish-style synagogue building in Vrbové will be continued thanks to more than €600,000 in funding obtained from the EU and the city.
A little over a month ago, the My Trnava web site and other media said that the EU had granted the city, which owns the building, €582,000 to be spent on the synagogue work, and that the city would add €100,000 from its own budget to install bathrooms in an adjacent building, build a parking lot, and install an access ramp, bringing the entire investment to €682,000.
Mayor Štefan Kubík gave slightly different figures. He told Slovakia’s TASR news agency that the city had received a subsidy of €633,000 from EU funds, to which the city would add its own funds to install the bathrooms, parking lot, etc.
Work on the synagogue is to include repair of the turrets, replacement of all windows and some doors, installation of railings on the women’s gallery, and a new electric system.
Constructed in 1883, the synagogue was designed in Moorish style with a striped facade by the Bratislava architects identified as Grätzel and Kittler. After being purchased by a private citizen, it was nationalized by the communist regime in February 1948 and used as a granary and T-shirt warehouse.
The city eventually took it over and began restoration work in the 1980s. But this was halted and for decades the building stood in limbo and in deteriorating condition because of ownership issues.
These were only resolved in 2016. The municipality then took over complete ownership of the building and initiated gradual restoration work in 2018. A new roof was completed at the end of 2021, with €90,000 contributed by the Ministry of Culture.
Despite the building’s overall deteriorated condition, the interior still conserves vivid painting on the vaulted ceiling, and the space is used for occasional events. Once restored it is to be used as a cultural and community center.
Watch a local TV report about the latest developments.
Read a report in English in the Slovak Spectator
Read our 2022 post about the synagogue’s history and new roof