Synagogue in Rychnov nad Kněžnou, Religious monument in Rychnov nad Kněžnou, Czech Republic.
The Synagogue in Rychnov nad Kněžnou stands on Fischerova Street in the town centre, built in 1782 in a Baroque-Classicist style on the site of an earlier synagogue destroyed by fire. The building now houses the Regional Jewish Museum of the Podorlicko region and a memorial to the writer Karel Poláček.
A first synagogue from the mid-17th century burned down in 1779, and the present building was erected in 1782 in Baroque-Classicist style. After a fire in 1830 it was restored, repaired again in 1898 and modernised inside in 1913 with enlarged windows and a new staircase to the women's gallery. It served worship until the start of World War II; the Jewish community ceased to exist in 1940 and the interior was destroyed during the occupation.
Since the mid-1990s the synagogue has housed the Regional Jewish Museum of the Podorlicko region and a permanent exhibition on local Jewish history. It also serves as a memorial to the writer Karel Poláček, who was born and grew up in Rychnov nad Kněžnou.
The synagogue stands on Fischerova Street in the town centre. The museum is run by the Rychnov nad Kněžnou municipal information centre, which handles visitor access. A Holocaust memorial was unveiled on the south facade in 2002.
The building was used as a warehouse and a heating-gas sales outlet of the national company Benzina after the Second World War, before its 1993–1995 reconstruction. Since then it has housed the regional Jewish Museum of Podorlicko and a memorial to the writer Karel Poláček, who was born and grew up in Rychnov.
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