Chewra Thilim Prayerhouse of Kazimierz, Kraków, Jewish prayer house in Kazimierz district, Kraków, Poland
Chewra Thilim Prayerhouse is a Jewish prayer house located on Meiselsa Street in the Kazimierz district of Kraków. It features a rectangular layout with separate prayer areas for men on the ground floor and women positioned upstairs.
Built in 1896 by architect Nachman Kopald, the building served as a gathering place for the Psalm Brotherhood. Members of this community devoted themselves to reading the entire Book of Psalms on a regular basis.
The prayer house walls display colorful murals from the 1890s depicting biblical animals like lions, tigers, and eagles alongside Hebrew inscriptions and floral designs. This artistic decoration gives the prayer space a distinctive visual character that visitors can still observe today.
The building was returned to the Jewish Community of Kraków in 2001 and is registered as a cultural heritage monument. Visitors should note that it functions as an active prayer house, so access may be limited during certain times.
Interior paintings discovered during 2008 renovations reveal traditional religious motifs mixed with nature calendar elements. This unexpected artistic combination demonstrates how spiritual and creative traditions merged within the prayer space.
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