Synagoga v Kolíně Synagogue

Synagoga v Kolíně is an important historical monument hidden in the interblock of the house No. 157 in the street Na Hradby. This early Baroque building is rooted in the turn of the 14th and 15th centuries. The Prague synagogue is one of the oldest and largest of its kind in Bohemia and Moravia.

The first written mention of the Cologne Synagogue dates back to 1402, when it was described as a wooden object. The memorial stone in the east facade suggests that the repair took place in 1422. In the first half of the 17th century, the building was damaged by a fire. Subsequently, in the years 1642 to 1696, the construction of a new wall synagogue took place in the Renaissance and early Baroque style. During the 18th and 19th centuries, namely in 1721, 1815 and 1844 to 1846, the building was gradually expanded. The latest construction interventions were directed towards the adjacent city wall.

Architecturally, the object is remarkable by its hidden location, where it leads the passage through the former Jewish school. The main hall excels with a Baroque vault with rich stucco decoration from around 1700. The relief motifs of vines and fruit flowers are symbolic; The vine represents the twelve tribes of Israel and the flowers refer to wisdom. The interior was preserved by baroque aron ha-codesh, a shrine to the scrolls of the Torah dated 1696. His dedication came from Vienna's benefactor Samuel Oppenheimer. There are signs above the south gallery referring to the psalms of Tanach.

Property ownership changed over time. From the Jewish village the administration switched in 1955 to the Czechoslovak state. During the German occupation between 1942 and 1945, the synagogue served as a warehouse for Wehrmacht and SS uniforms. After World War II, the Jewish community in Cologne was briefly restored under the leadership of Rabbi Richard Feder, but since the mid-1950s, religious services have not been held here. In 1958, the synagogue was declared a cultural monument and underwent a general reconstruction between 1990 and 2000.

Today the monument serves cultural purposes and is accessible to the public through the building of the former Jewish school, where the city information centre is located. The visit to this place offers a unique insight into the history of Jewish settlement in Czech countries and allows a tour of the rarely preserved Baroque interior. The object represents a valuable testimony about the religious and cultural life of the Cologne Jewish community, which is worth knowing personally.