The Tempel Synagogue

Kraków. Krakau. Posted on 24 October 1900.

The Tempel Synagogue, also known as the Synagoga Postępowa (Progressive Synagogue), located where Miodowa and Podbrzezie Streets meet, was the principal reform synagogue in Cracow. Those familiar with the building in its current form will instantly spot that the postcard shows it prior to the extension carried out in 1924 following designs by two well-respected local Jewish architects, Ferdynand (Feivel) Liebling (1877–1942) and Jozue Oberleder (1883–1962). (Liebling apparently died of natural causes; Oberleder survived in hiding.) What exactly the synagogue looked like when it was first inaugurated on 28 February 1862 is not entirely clear because the municipal authorities asked for changes to be made to the original design by Ignacy Hercok (1806–1864) in order to make the building more instantly recognizable as a place of worship but we do not know which of the subsequently discussed changes were actually carried out. The original design has been likened to that of the synagogue in the German city of Kassel that was designed by the influential German Jewish architect Abraham Rosengarten (1810–1893) and inaugurated in 1839. Following initial extensions and changes made in 1869 and 1883, much of the 1890s was taken up with a range of substantial alterations and additions planned and overseen by Benjamin Torbe (1858–1931), who was himself a member of the congregation. It was at this juncture that the façade was enlarged and began to look much as it does today, combining a fundamentally Italianate neo-Renaissance model with various elements of neo-Romanesque, neo-Gothic and, to a lesser degree, neo-Moorish ornamentation. The interior in particular was changed dramatically, introducing a much more elaborate ornamental scheme that may have been inspired by the Semper Synagogue in Dresden. An apse was created for the ark—designed and created by Fabian Hochstim, a prestigious stonemason who was also a member of the congregation—choir and organ. The Temple Synagogue is one of only seven to survive the German occupation in the city and is assumed to be the only still functional nineteenth-century synagogue in Poland. A mikveh was added in 1947, and regular services continued until 1968, occasional services until 1985. Comprehensively restored in the second half of the 1990s, the synagogue is now used by the Jewish community for services on the high holidays and cultural events.