The synagogue in Břeclav, now part of the Municipal Museum and Gallery with a permanent exhibit on local Jewish history, is undergoing a significant restoration of its exterior and interior that will last under June.
“After a quarter of a century since a complete reconstruction of the synagogue, significant repairs await,” Mayor Svatopluk Pěček announced in a Facebook post. “The facade and damaged parts of the roof will be repaired, as well as interior painting and fireproofing.”
He said that the nearby former Jewish school, built in the 1880s and now known as the Lichtenstein House and also part of the museum, will later also undergo restoration.
The synagogue was built in 1868 and renovated two decades later by the noted Viennese architect Max Fleischer in neo-Romanesque style with Moorish elements in the interior.
It was used as a warehouse after WW2 and was then fully restored in 1997–1999, opening as a cultural space and concert hall in 2000. The permanent exhibit Jewish Břeclav opened in 2009.
Petr Dlouhý, director of the Municipal Museum and Gallery, told local media that work would begin with the interior restoration, which should last a month or so and then move on to the repair of the facade and roof.
The museum is currently closed, but Dlouhý said public programming should begin again in April. Mayor Pěček said work should be completed by June, with restoration of the Lichtenstein House planned for 2027.
He said the city will cover 5.4 million crowns (c. €222,000) for the work on the synagogue, and is applying for subsidies from the Ministry of Culture and the South Moravian Region for further funding.
Břeclav has a well maintained Jewish cemetery, whose red brick neo-Gothic ceremonial hall was restored in 2023 and is also used as a cultural space.
The synagogue on the Museum web site