Synagoga Turnov, Turnov

The synagogue in Turnov is located in Krajířova Street in the part of the town called Trávnice, about 300 metres from the Square of Bohemian Paradise in Turnov. It has been protected as a cultural monument of the Czech Republic since 1997.

The synagogue was built in 1719 after a fire in the town on the site of a burgher's house. Before this stone synagogue there were two other wooden synagogues in Turnov, but they always burned down. The synagogue was in use until 1941, when it had to be closed like the other synagogues in the Protectorate. After the war, only about 19 Jews from the entire original Jewish community returned from the concentration camps. They did not have the strength to maintain the synagogue and handed it over to the Drobné zboží Pardubice company, which turned it into a warehouse and substantially rebuilt it in the 1960s. In 1997, the town of Turnov manages to declare the synagogue a cultural monument and, after negotiations with the private owner who still uses it as a warehouse, takes possession of it in 2003.

The synagogue was reconstructed in 2007-2008 with the help of Norwegian funds and since 2009 it has been used for cultural and social purposes, during the tourist season it is used for tours and occasionally for religious services.

In addition to the synagogue, there is also a valuable Jewish cemetery in Turnov.

The local Jewish community ceased to exist after 1948, when the remaining Jews went abroad after the communist coup.