Sandomierz Synagogue

17th-century synagogue, now a cultural centre — one of the few surviving traces of Jewish Sandomierz

The Sandomierz Synagogue is a 17th-century building on Żydowska Street (Jewish Street), now functioning as a cultural and exhibition space. The building retains its basic structure from the Baroque period, though much of the original interior was lost during the war.

The synagogue is a quiet and sombre place — particularly meaningful in a town that once had a substantial Jewish quarter and lost it entirely to the Holocaust. The exhibitions inside cover the history of the Jewish community in Sandomierz and the wider region. It is worth a visit both for its architecture and for understanding the town's pre-war character.

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A story
Before the Second World War, Jews made up around a third of Sandomierz's population — a community with roots going back to at least the 15th century. The German occupation ended that entirely: the Jewish community was deported and murdered at the Bełżec extermination camp in 1942. The synagogue, built in the 17th century and rebuilt after fires, was used as a storehouse during the occupation. It is now one of the few material traces of a community that shaped the town for five centuries.

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