Krnov Synagogue, Moorish Revival synagogue in Pod Bezručovým vrchem, Czech Republic.
The Krnov Synagogue is a freestanding two-storey hall building with a rectangular plan and twin towers on the eastern facade, built in 1871–72 by local builder Ernst Latzel in Romanesque Revival Rundbogenstil with Moorish Revival interior elements. Inside, a painted wooden coffered ceiling and a women's gallery on cast-iron columns along three sides of the hall are the main features.
Built 1871–72 by local builder Ernst Latzel as a replacement for an older prayer house, the synagogue was consecrated on 5 June 1872 by Brno rabbi Dr. Baruch Placzek. It served the congregation until autumn 1938, when the Sudetenland was annexed to Nazi Germany. On 9 November 1938 mayor Oskar König and councillors, on builder Franz Irblich's proposal, stripped the Jewish symbols and converted it into a market hall, reporting to Berlin that Jägerndorf had no synagogue to burn.
The building's Moorish Revival interior, with its reddish-brown painted wooden coffered ceiling and women's galleries on cast-iron columns, contrasts with the Rundbogenstil Romanesque Revival exterior of twin towers and round-arched windows. Since 2003 it has hosted concerts of Hebrew songs, Jewish dance performances and commemorations of Jewish holidays, and now holds a permanent exhibition on Jewish industrialists, entrepreneurs and inventors.
The former synagogue stands at the corner of Soukenická and Barvířská streets, behind the Česká pošta building on the eastern edge of the town centre. It is a two-storey hall with twin towers on the east front; the painted wooden coffered ceiling and the women's gallery on cast-iron columns are inside. The building is used for exhibitions and concerts, so check opening times before visiting.
In late October 1938 Krnov's mayor Oskar König received a secret Berlin order to burn the synagogue on 9 November. He told the councillors, who accepted builder Franz Irblich's plan to strip the Jewish symbols and turn the building into a market hall, reporting that Jägerndorf had no synagogue to destroy.
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