In Český Krumlov, the renovated synagogue will open

photo: Lubor Mrázek

Český Krumlov - A renovated synagogue will open in Český Krumlov on Wednesday. Visitors will find a permanent exhibition called The World of Český Krumlov Jews and also an exhibition titled 4 Photographers, 2 Countries, 1 Region, which is part of the Upper Austrian Regional Exhibition. The synagogue is owned by the Jewish community of Prague, which leased and reconstructed it through the Český Krumlov Development Fund (ČKRF). It will primarily host exhibitions, concerts, and other social events, said the fund spokesperson Eliška Koričarová to ČTK.
     The renovation of the synagogue is part of the so-called third meander project, which is an area on the left bank of the Vltava River south of the historical core. This part of the city also features the recently renovated Museum Fotoateliér Seidel and the house of the painter Egon Schiele. All three buildings are connected by elements of Art Nouveau. "During the revitalization of the synagogue, we were pleased with the synergy with the Museum Fotoateliér Seidel. Thanks to the discovered photos by Josef Seidel of the exterior and interior of the synagogue, it was possible to accurately reconstruct the space, including a number of interesting and important details that have not survived," stated the director of ČKRF Miroslav Reitinger.
     The synagogue building, designed by Prague architect Viktor Kafka and completed in 1910, served its purpose until the annexation of the Sudetenland in 1938. After World War II, it briefly served as a prayer room for American soldiers, later it was used by Evangelical churches, and eventually it became a storage facility. In the post-war period, the building became the property of the town of Český Krumlov, which returned it to the Jewish community after 1990.
     The costs of the renovation and equipping of the synagogue, which is one of the few preserved buildings of its kind in South Bohemia, reached approximately 16.9 million crowns, of which 92.5 percent are covered by the ROP Southwest.
     On Wednesday, May 15, an exhibition titled 4 Photographers, 2 Countries, 1 Region will open in the synagogue. It focuses on architecture, traditions, religion, industries, and the stories of specific families living in this border area at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century.