It was built in 1898 by Kollacsek and Wirth as a two-storey building without towers, according to the design of the Tokaj synagogue in the Moorish style with several orientalising elements. Of the interior furnishings, apart from the almemor, the artistic tabernacle (aron hakodesh) is particularly valuable. The entire interior is decorated with magnificent ornamental paintings, which, despite considerable damage to the building and without major reconstruction, have retained their original richness, expressiveness and shape. The relatively austere neo-RomanesqueThe Moorish facades literally hide a treasure of synagogue architecture. The orthodox synagogue served its purpose until 1942. In the spring and summer of that year, it became, together with the adjacent area, a gathering place for the Prešov Jews immediately before the deportations. From here, the Guards took several thousand citizens of the town to the transports heading for the concentration camps. During the occupation of Prešov, the German army set up stables and garages in the synagogue. After necessary repairs and additions to the interior furnishings, it was consecrated in October 1948. The richly decorated interiors with fully preserved inventory are among the most attractive Jewish monuments in Slovakia and in 1989-1990 Jews from Los Angeles tried unsuccessfully to acquire it and transport it to the USA. In August 1991, a monument to more than six thousand Holocaust victims from Prešov and the surrounding area was unveiled in the courtyard in front of the synagogue's entrance in the presence of top Slovak state officials.
Present in the synagogue
The Orthodox synagogue is still used as a house of prayer. The women's gallery houses the so-called Barkány collection of Judaica - the exposition of the Museum of Jewish Culture. The synagogue is a part of a valuable complex of Jewish communal institutions (prayer room, cheder - Jewish school, rabbinate, ritual slaughterhouse), which was built by the Orthodox community in the area behind the city walls since the 1880s.
If you are already in the city of Prešov, you will be able to visit several other unique sights. We can recommend, for exampleCathedral Church of St. John the Baptist, Solivar ,St. Nicholas Cathedral,Florian's Gate,Church of St. Joseph,Water tower,Calvary etc.
You can learn more about the orthodox synagogue in Prešov on the website Museum of Jewish Culture.
Photo: Mgr. Mgr. Jozef Kotulič, OOCR Region Šariš
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