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Tempel Synagogue

Tempel Synagogue

Ignacy Hercok

Photo: Zygmunt Put · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Location
Kraków, Poland
Client / Owner
—
Year
Completed 1860
Access
Public
Style
Islamic

Ignacy Hercok designed the Tempel Synagogue in Kraków, which was built from 1860 to 1862 when the city was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It is modeled on the Leopoldstädter Tempel in Vienna. The article describes Moorish Revival and Rundbogenstil styles in a brick building with one dome and a tall central section flanked by lower wings.

The interior is finished with many-colored painted patterns and gold leaf under a Moorish ceiling. The arch over the Aron Kodesh has alternating tall and short houses, which the source says are more like Polish folk art than Islamic art. A gold-leaf dome evokes the Sigismund Chapel dome at Wawel Cathedral.

The Nazis desecrated it in World War II and used it to store ammunition. Donors worldwide funded a renovation from 1995 to 2000. It is a Historic Monument of Poland.

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