Synagoga, Szczebrzeszyn

Synagogue in Szczebrzeszyn - the main synagogue of the Jewish community in Szczebrzeszyn, located west of the market square, on Sądowa Street.

The synagogue was built at the beginning of the 17th century on the site of the old synagogue. In 1648 it was burnt by Cossacks during the siege of Zamość fortress, but in 1659 it was thoroughly renovated. In the 18th century, it was partially rebuilt. During World War II, in 1940, the Nazis burnt down the synagogue. After the war, in 1946, the vaults of the building collapsed, but in the years 1957-1963 it was thoroughly rebuilt and since 1965 it has been used as the Municipal and Communal Cultural Center, which is located there to this day. In the nearest future the synagogue will be handed over to the Warsaw Jewish community.

The brick synagogue building was erected on a rectangular plan with annexes in the late Renaissance style. On the southern and northern side there are single-storied annexes with babinki. On the western side there is a one-storey annex, which on the first floor included the vestibule and the conference room, and on the first floor - the study room. The whole building is covered with a beautifully reconstructed Polish pitched roof. The entrance to the rectangular and lowered prayer hall leads from the vestibule through a Renaissance simple stone portal.

Inside the main hall, the framed Aron ha-kodesh has been preserved, above which is the carved Hebrew text of the psalm "I set the Lord before me always". The entire main hall has a monastery vault with lunettes. The walls used to be decorated with beautiful polychromes and stuccowork. On the western and northern walls, there are symbols of the Levites, i.e. a jug and a bowl, and on the southern wall, there is a menorah and a pomegranate - a symbol of the Promised Land. A wide decorative belt with arcaded pilaster niches below the windows, topped with a profiled cornice, has also been preserved.

On the front wall of the synagogue there is a stone plaque informing in three languages: Polish, Hebrew and Yiddish, about the history and previous use of the building.

In the years 2009-2010 the synagogue underwent renovation, the facade was restored, installations were replaced, and trees growing nearby were cut down to make room for a parking lot. During the renovation the building was painted pink.