The Great Synagogue in Pilsen – the third largest in the world

Jews have been living in Pilsen region since the 14th century. During the centuries there have been five Synagogues in Pilsen, only two of which have been preserved and exist today – The Old Synagogue, which is located in the courtyard of the houses in Smetana´s Parks (originally there used to be a Jewish school too, but now in its place you can find an unusual memorial to holocaust victims) and the Great Synagogue.

The Great Synagogue is the largest synagogue in the Czech Republic, the second largest in Europe and the third largest in the world. The magnificent building built in the Moorish-Romanesque style with interesting interiors is also used today as a concert and exhibition hall.

The Great Synagogue in Pilsen is (after Budapest) the second largest synagogue in Europe and the third largest in the world. It was built in the years 1888–1892 in the neo-Romanesque style with Moorish elements. You can find the synagogue in the city center, in Sady Pětatřicátníků street. In 1992, it was declared a cultural monument of the Czech Republic . Concerts and other cultural performances are very often organized in large and small synagogues.

But a visit to the monument offers more than just a tour. Two permanent exhibitions on the balconies are worth paying attention to . The first is devoted to the history of Pilsen Jews , the second explains Judaismsuch. People can learn here, for example, what rituals a mother undergoes after giving birth, children in their teenage years , how a Jewish wedding takes place , and how the dead are cared for. The exposition also presents the Jewish lunisolar calendar and describes all Jewish holidays .

Exposition Jews lived here on the upper galleries

From spring 2022, a new permanent exhibition dedicated to the Jewish monuments of the Plzeň Region called Here the Jews Lived can be seen in the upper galleries . The author and curator is photographer Radovan Kodera. This is a set of photos processed on two touch screens directly controlled by visitors and six screens on which image loops assembled into six thematic circuits will run. The photos map the history and transformation of Jewish monuments in the Pilsen region . The file also includes archival photos of rebuilt or no longer existing synagogues and other buildings.

Synagogue and rabbinical house

In the interior of the Great Synagogue, from autumn 2018 to spring 2022, the unique painting on the ceiling and the rest of the interior , as well as the aron ha-kodesh tabernacle , was restored . Repairs were also made to the unique organ , which was assembled by the Brauner brothers from Uničov in 1893. The doors in the corridors were given original stained-glass windows with geometric shapes (in the synagogue it is permissible to use only plant or geometric patterns). During the first reconstruction of the monument, some of the original figures were saved, they were stored and others were made based on them. Chandeliers and lamps were also replaced , successful replicas were created based on the preserved pieces.

Years later, it was also the turn to rebuild the rabbi’s house in Palackého Street. In the basement of a neo-Romanesque building with neo-Renaissance elements, a ritual Jewish mikveh bath was created . The house also serves as a Jewish learning center. There are also exhibition spaces and a multifunctional hall .

From the history of the Great Synagogue

From the middle of the 19th century, the number of Jewish residents, who were able to settle here again after their expulsion after 1504, increased sharply. In 1854, there were 249 Jews living in Pilsen , in 1870 there were already 1,207. We do not know exactly when the construction of the third modern synagogue began to be considered, but already in 1874, the local Jewish community purchased land for this purpose. The Great Synagogue is built in the neo-Romanesque style with Moorish elements according to the plans of the Viennese architect Max Fleischer , revised by the Pilsen builder Emanuel Klotz, and its construction took place between 1888 and 1893 . According to the memorial sheet found in the mine of the northern tower, the construction costs rose to 141,092.06 guilders (about 21 million crowns today). It is abouta monumental building with two 45-meter towers and a three-nave layout. The interior of the synagogue is decorated with paintings with plant motifs, and there is also an organ from 1890. In the courtyard of the synagogue there is a one-story rabbinical house , built in the neo-Romanesque style.

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However, the Jews of Pilsen did not enjoy the newly built synagogue for too long. In January 1942, 2,605 Jews from Pilsen were deported to Terezín by the Nazis in three transports . Since its destruction, the Great Synagogue has most likely been preserved by its location between two houses, as well as the fact that it served as a warehouse for the sale of furniture for deported Jews and later became a workshop, where uniforms for German soldiers were sewn. The battles for the liberation of the city at the end of the war are still reminiscent of visible bullet holes on the tablets of ten on the top of the facade of the synagogue. After the war, the synagogue returned to the Jewish religious community, which, however, was greatly decimated after the hardships of the war. Only by a miracle did the synagogue survive the period of communist rule and was not converted into a city spa or market. Gradually, her already deplorable condition worsened and she was left to her own devices.

The efforts of the Jewish community to save this monument culminated in the years 1994-1998 , when a partial reconstruction took place. The ceremonial re-opening of the synagogue on the Jewish holiday Tu biŠvat (February 11, 1998) was attended by leading representatives of the city and the state. Currently, the synagogue serves its original purpose , at the same time it is used as an exhibition and concert hall , and the efforts of the Jewish community to complete its repair continue continuously.