Great Synagogue (Plzeň)
{{Short description|Synagogue in Plzeň, Czech Republic}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2024}}
{{For|similarly named synagogues|Great Synagogue (disambiguation){{!}}Great Synagogue}}
{{Infobox religious building
| name = Great Synagogue, Plzeň
| native_name = {{langx|cs|Velká synagoga}}
| native_name_lang =
| image = Synagogue Plzen 087.JPG
| image_upright = 1.4
| alt =
| caption = The synagogue in 2006
| religious_affiliation = Judaism
| tradition =
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| deity =
| rite = Nusach Ashkenaz
| festival =
| organisational_status = Synagogue
| ownership =
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| consecration_year =
| functional_status = Active
| religious_features_label =
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| location = Plzeň
| locale =
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| country = Czech Republic
| map_type = Czech Republic
| map_size = 250
| map_alt =
| map_relief = 1
| map_caption = Location of the synagogue
in the Czech Republic
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| coordinates = {{coord|49|44|48|N|13|22|22|E|region:CZ_type:landmark_source:cswiki|display=title,inline}}
| coordinates_footnotes =
| heritage_designation =
| architect = Emmanuel Klotz
| architecture_type = {{nowrap|Synagogue architecture}}
| architecture_style = {{ubl|Moorish Revival|Romanesque Revival}}
| founded_by =
| creator =
| funded_by =
| general_contractor = Rudolf Štech
| established = {{circa|1880}} {{small|(as a congregation)}}
| groundbreaking =
| year_completed = 1893
| construction_cost = ƒ162,138
| date_demolished =
| facade_direction = East
| capacity = 2,000+ worshippers
| length =
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| height_max = {{convert|45|m}}
| dome_quantity = Two
| dome_height_outer =
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| minaret_quantity =
| minaret_height =
| spire_quantity = One
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| website = {{url|http://www.zoplzen.cz}}
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The Great Synagogue ({{langx|cs|Velká synagoga}}, {{langx|he|בית הכנסת הגדול בפילסן}}) is a traditional Czech Jewish congregation and synagogue, located in Plzeň, in the Czech Republic. The synagogue is the second largest synagogue in Europe{{cite web |work=Jewish Heritage Report |volume=I |number=3-4 |date=Winter 1997 |title=Pilsen Synagogue, Synagogue Rededicated in Pilsen, Czech Republic |author=Greene, Richard Allen |url=http://www.isjm.org/jhr/nos3-4/pilsen.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303170034/http://www.isjm.org/jhr/nos3-4/pilsen.htm |archive-date=2016-03-03}} and fourth largest in the world.https://www.visitczechia.com/en-us/things-to-do/places/landmarks/jewish-monuments/c-pilsen-great-synagogue It is an active synagogue with regular services held by the local Jewish Community.
History
A Viennese architect Max Fleischer drew up the original plans for the synagogue in Gothic style with granite buttresses and twin {{convert|65|m|adj=on}} towers. The cornerstone was laid on 2 December 1888 and that was about as far as it got. City councillors rejected the plan in a clear case of tower envy as they felt that the grand erection would compete with the nearby Cathedral of St. Bartholomew.
Emmanuel Klotz put forward a new design in 1890 retaining the original ground plan and hence the cornerstone, but lowering the towers by {{convert|20|m}} and creating the distinctive look combining Romantic Revival and Renaissance Revival styles covered with Oriental decorations and a giant Star of David. The design was quickly approved and master builder Rudolf Štech completed work in 1893 for the bargain price of 162,138 florins. At the time the Jewish community in Plzeň numbered some 2,000.
The mixture of styles is truly bewildering; from the onion domes of a Russian Orthodox church, to the Arabic style ceiling, to the distinctly Indian looking Torah ark. The synagogue was used without interruption until the Nazi occupation of World War II. The synagogue was used as a storage facility during the war and was thereby spared from destruction. The Jewish community that retook possession of the synagogue at the end of hostilities had been decimated by the Holocaust. The last regular service was held in 1973, when the synagogue was closed down and fell into disrepair under communist rule.
Restoration was undertaken from 1995 to 1998, and the synagogue was reopened on 11 February 1998 at a cost of 63 million CZK. The central hall is now often used for concerts, while the walls host exhibitions of various causes. Renovation of interiors was carried out between 2019 and 2022.{{cite web |last1=Hájková |first1=Barbora |title=Opravená Velká synagoga otevírá. Láká na bohatý program |url=https://plzensky.denik.cz/zpravy_region/opravena-velka-synagoga-otevira-laka-na-bohaty-program-20220331.html |website=Plzeňský deník |access-date=1 November 2023 |language=cs |date=31 March 2022}} The synagogue is still used for worship, but only in what was formerly the winter prayer room. The present number of Plzeň Jews is roughly 200 people as of 2024.
Gallery
File:Great Synagogue Plzen CZ general view.JPG
File:PilsenSynagogue.JPG
File:Plzen 114.JPG
File:Große Synagoge in Pilsen 2015 - HDR.jpg
File:Große Synagoge Pilsen Zehn Gebote.jpg|alt=Ten Commandments in Hebrew on the top of the synagogue's roof
File:Große Synagoge Pilsen Davidstern Holzbank.jpg|alt=Star of David on the side of a wooden bench
File:Große Synagoge Pilsen innen.jpg|alt=Interior of the synagogue
File:Große Synagoge Pilsen Nacht.png
See also
{{stack|{{portal|Czech Republic|Judaism}}}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.pruvodce.com/synagogaplzen/ Short overview] (in Czech)
- [http://www.kr-plzensky.cz/Relics.asp?lngPamatka=944619 Details of architecture] (in Czech)
- [http://www.synagogaconcerts.cz/synagoga_int.htm Picture of the interior]
{{Synagogues in the Czech Republic}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Great Synagogue (Plzen)}}
Category:1892 establishments in Austria-Hungary
Category:19th-century religious buildings and structures in the Czech Republic
Category:19th-century synagogues in Europe
Category:Ashkenazi Jewish culture in the Czech Republic
Category:Buildings and structures in Plzeň
Category:Moorish Revival synagogues
Category:Reform synagogues in the Czech Republic
Category:Romanesque Revival synagogues
Category:Synagogue buildings with domes