The long disused synagogue building in Poznan — which the Nazis turned into a swimming pool — is up for sale, with the asking price of 35 million zloty (€8.2 million). Any conversion must include a space for a local Jewish history museum.
“It’s not just an investment property – it’s a place with a soul and history,” reads the notice on the Joy Properties real estate web site.
The facility, erected in 1907 as the New Synagogue according to the design of the Berlin architects Cremer and Wolffenstein, was brutally rebuilt by the Germans into a swimming pool during the occupation. The interior was destroyed, the structure was simplified. The swimming pool operated until 2012.
Today, it’s a space ready for a new life – with respect for memory and history. .
It said that the condition for development “is the preservation of Genius Loci – in every future investment there is a space for the Museum of Jewish Remembrance of Poznań and Wielkopolska (ground floor).” The building was entered in the register of historical monuments with conservation protection earlier this year.
The synagogue stands near the main market square, and city planning permission allows conversion of the building — which the Nazis stripped of most architectural features — into a hotel, apartments (up to 122 units), or a dormitory. (There is already a permit with Hilton for its conversion into a five star hotel, but it never materialized and would need to be renewed.)
“It is one of the few locations in Poland where history and business potential go hand in hand,” the real estate web site states. “You can build a prestigious hotel, a modern apartment building or a dorm – and at the same time co-create a unique place of memory.”
Built in monumental domed style in 1907 and designed by Richard Wolffenstein and Wilhelm Cremer, the synagogue was stripped of distinguishing features and turned into a swimming pool by the Nazis. The pool was closed in 2011/2, and since then the building has stood empty, amid sometimes heated debates about its future.
It was restituted to the tiny local Jewish community, which aired plans to turn it either into a centre of education and dialogue or a hotel. But the community lacked funds and sold the building to a private investor before the pandemic.
Read the Joy Properties real estate company’s listing
Read the Remax experts real estate company’s listing
Read a history of the building in English, with photos
Read a thoughtful essay about the building’s history and fate
Read our 2023 post about activists trying to save the building