Izaak Synagogue, Krakow

The Izaak Synagogue stands as one of the grandest monuments to the city’s Jewish heritage: built between 1638 and 1644 in the historic Jewish quarter of Kazimierz, it was commissioned by a wealthy Jewish financier, Izaak Jakubowicz — also known as “Isaac the Rich,” banker to the king — and remains a striking example of 17th-century Baroque synagogue architecture.

From the outside the building appears restrained, but inside lies a richly decorated hall: a high vaulted ceiling, Renaissance-style stucco frames, painted Hebrew liturgical texts on the walls, ornate decorative motifs, and a women’s gallery supported by elegant Tuscan columns. When it was first built, this synagogue was the largest and most lavishly furnished in Kazimierz with a majestic wooden Torah ark and richly appointed interiors.

Over the centuries the synagogue saw many trials. In the mid-17th century, during the Swedish Deluge, the furnishings were looted, and the building was even pawned to settle debts. The most destructive blow came during World War II, when occupying forces plundered and destroyed the interior: the bimah, the ark and other ritual furnishings were lost, and the synagogue was repurposed — first as storage, later as a workshop. In the post-war decades it served various secular functions and fell into disrepair, even suffering a damaging fire around 1981.

The revival began in the 1980s and 1990s: after renovation efforts uncovered long-hidden murals and decorative schemes, the building was restored to its former grandeur. Today Izaak Synagogue functions again as a place of worship for the Orthodox community, but also as a cultural and historical site: it hosts exhibitions, film screenings and educational projects about the Jewish past of Kraków’s Kazimierz district, as well as occasional concerts and meetings.