Isaac Synagogue

Isaac son of Jacob hailed from an ancient Kraków family. For many long years he was the senior of the Jewish Religious Congregation. His success in business – loans, and the gold and silk trade – let him come by a considerable fortune. Everything seemed obvious when in 1638 he obtained the right from King Ladislaus IV Vasa (Władysław IV Waza) to build a synagogue in a square he owned. However, a protest against its construction was lodged by the parish priest of Corpus Christi Church, Father Marcin Kłoczyński. The argument was that when priests would be taking the last rites to one of the then still numerous Christian homes there, a passage with the Holy Host next to a synagogue would be highly improper. It must be explained that at that time a warning was being spread that Jews were lurking with the intention of kidnapping the Holy Host. The matter caused a few years’ delay, and finally – after an intervention from Bishop Jakub Zadzik – Jakubowicz was able to complete his synagogue. The merit of the banker’s arguments was discussed for more than a year and a day...

The Isaac Synagogue, the largest in Kazimierz, is a monumental, strongly elongated construction, equipped with buttresses. The only feature of a particular style in its exterior is the baroque entry portal in ul. Izaaka. In 1924, the front façade received a twin staircase with an arcaded porch leading to the women’s gallery, commonly known as the babiniec.

The interior of the synagogue, devastated in the second world war, was initially renovated by artists, and altered to meet their needs. It housed sculptors’ workshops until the 1970s. Later, the abandoned and unprotected building was falling into slow decay until the interior burnt in a fire started by trespassers in 1981. Finally general restoration was carried out in 1983-1992. The Jewish Religious Congregation recovered the building while work was still being carried out. It was only after this renovation, in 1994, that conservators were able to step in to return the interior to its former splendour.

The severe, rectangular whole with high barrel vaulting suspended 14 m (46 feet) over the floor, is supported directly on the pillars, and embellished with framed stucco decorations. It makes the early baroque interior of the synagogue similar to the interiors of a number of Kraków churches and mansions of the time. For that reason, it is attributed to Giovanni Battista Falconi. The arcaded gallery for women supported on Tuscan columns provides a beautiful formal feature. Conservation work allowed the discovery and emphasising of the 17th-century polychrome murals. The construction also covered the Aaron Hakodesh – (Holy Ark enclosing the Torah Scrolls). This is framed with Tuscan columns and crowned with a broken pediment and bas-relief tables featuring the Ten Commandments. In 2007, the Jewish Religious Congregation leased the synagogue to one of the Hassidic communities, who plan to use it for worship.