Izio remembers: The Synagogues - Part 1

Frequent contributor and friend of the blog Izio (Jack Fields) Felder recalls the synagogues of Przemysl.

Here I am sending you a few Emails with pictures all concerning the 5 main Synagogues in prewar Przemysl. There were also quite a number of prayer rooms in private homes.

Przemysl had 5 main synagogues:

The Slowackiego street synagoge in Slowackiego street
The Big Beth Hamidrash in Walowa street
Die Alte synagogue in Serbanska street(Rybi plac)
The Temple on the corner of Serbanska and Jagielonska streets
The Zasanie synagogue

Klaus was not a self standing synagogue but a large room in the "Kahal" which was the building of the Jewish society.

In this photo the Slowackiego street is on top left and the Slowackiego synagogue was close to the city center. That street is rather long and at the end of that street on the right side were cemeteries those from WW1....WW2 and at the end is the Jewish cemetery.

Plac na Bramie (This means The Square Near the Gate, which refers to the entrance gate leading to the ancient Przemysl fortress. The fortress is located nearby).
This view is from Mickiewicza street. This is a central place from which the following 6 streets originate: Mickiewicza, Dworskiego, Slowackiego, Franciszkanska, Ratuszowa and Jagiellonska Street.

The largest and most modern synagogue is called the Big Beth Hamidrash in the Yizkor book of Przemysl. It is described but difficult to understand and it is not mentioned where it was situated. It says that the old Beth Hamidrash was in ruins and it was rebuild in 1910 and a large crowd was there at the ceremony so it was built about the same time as the synagogue on Slowackiego and it was quite modern and it was very similar in appearance do the synagogue in Slowackiego street

I lived at Walowa number 11, directly opposite the big Beth Hamidrash and I saw it every day.

Here is a picture of the damaged old synagogue die Alte as it looked during the Soviet occupation. To the left is the start of Walowa Street.

The house with the 2 windows on top and the door this is Walowa st number 2 next is the Szklarska Street. Next is the house of Walowa number 4 next is the high wall... this was the large Beth Hamidrash. Walowa number 6:all that can be seen is the high wall of the synagogue and this is the only picture available showing the big Beth Hamidrash. It was as modern and as large as the synagogue on Slowackiego.

Go to Part 2