Main menu
homepage
photos, drawings & diagrams
) | Poznań synagogue (ul. Wroniecka) viewed from the Southeast (ul. Stawna near ul. Żydowska), c. 1930s. The complex structure at this eastern end of the synagogue was removed by the Nazis and replaced by a plain wall of windows. The parts removed included the Oran Ha'Kodesh (where the Torah scroll was kept), the choir loft, the rabbi's and kantor's offices, and a small synagogue known as the "Wochentagsynagoge" (the weekday synagogue). Note that in this photo, the domes are clad in ceramic tile. When the synagogue was built they were clad in copper with gold trim. We have not determined exactly when the alteration was made or why. |
) | Interior of the ul. Wroniecka synagogue. Combined Bimah and Oran Ha'Kodesh; above and behind is the choir loft; note the elaborate mozaic decoration. None of what is shown here exists today. |
) |
The Charitable Society Synagogue, dating from 1850s, on ul. Dominikanska. Next to it, on the corner with its entrance on ul. Szewska, is the prayer house of the of the Brüdergemeinde (Community Brotherhood). Both these buildings were severely damaged during the fighting between the Nazis and the advancing Red Army in February 1945, and were demolished and removed after the war. The site they occupied remains empty and is currently (March 2006) an excavation site under the direction of the Archeological Museum of Poznan. |
) |
View looking North from the tower of the Old City Hall in the center of the Old Market of Poznań. Approximately 400 meters distant is the ul. Wroniecka synagogue, which, along with the Old City Hall, dominated the skyline of central Poznań at the time. Oddly for the time, the dome of the synagogue was actually taller than the spires of the Catholic Cathedral. This may have been the consequence of Kulturkampf, the German political effort to weaken the influence of Polish history and culture in an area annexed into Prussia. |
) |
View looking South from the tower of the Old City Hall. In the distance, more than one kilometer away, the original tower of the Kaiserschloss (Zamek) is visible. The Kaiserschloss was built at approximately the same time as the synagogue and some of its interiors were decrorated by the same firm that decorated the inside of the synagogue. |
) | Postcard, c. 1909, showing the front of the ul. Wroniecka synagogue just after a wedding or other celebration. At the time of this postcard, the synagogue's domes were still clad in copper and trimmed with gold (compare to the first photograph, shown above). A careful view of the present-day building reveals that much of the original structure still exists. For example, the large brick archway above the main entrance can be seen just under the paint and plaster of the present day building. |
) | Architectural elevation and floor plans. |
 | Map of Central Poznań, c. 1917. At the time there was no ul. Solna, and the synagogue faced onto Wroniecka pl (Wronker platz). Note that the synagogue stood on a sort of island surrounded by five streets. Not far away (about a two minute walk) the older and smaller synagogues are shown on ul. Dominikanska (Dominikanerstrasse) and ul. Szewska (Schuhmacherstrasse), just across the street from the old Dominican Church (now known as the Jesuit Church). |