A restored synagogue has been opened in Čkyně in the Prachatice region

The village of Čkyně (Prachatice region) - Today, after several years of renovation, a synagogue was opened in Čkyně in the Prachatice region. It was successfully saved thanks to the efforts of volunteers, the local community, sponsors, and especially the Czech-Bavarian grant. Visitors will be offered an exhibition on the Disappeared Synagogues of South Bohemia, an information center, a space for exhibitions, and a prayer room. Vladimír Silovský from the Šumava Regional Development Agency, which collaborated with the local community and the Society for the Restoration of the Synagogue in creating the exhibition, told ČTK.
    "According to Silovský, the most valuable space in the synagogue is the former winter prayer room, which is now the only functional prayer room in South Bohemia after the renovation, providing a sacred space for Jewish worship as well as for individual contemplation. 'In the box, we have our own Torah, which is an absolute rarity,'" Silovský said. The Torah was found during renovation work in the attic and was successfully restored.
    The synagogue was built in 1828, and partial repairs began in the 1990s when the local community acquired it. In 2011, funds were obtained from the cross-border fund for Czech-Bavarian cooperation, and in collaboration with partners from Bavarian Freyung-Grafenau, the project "Landscape Connects" was created, which addressed the repair of the Bavarian castle of Wolfstein and the synagogue in Čkyně.
    According to Silovský, the total costs for the Czech part of the project reached approximately ten million crowns, half of which was spent on construction work. Additional funds were invested in equipment and the creation of exhibitions. The building will also operate a library with a reading room featuring regional and Jewish literature. In the women's gallery on the first floor, there is space for exhibitions.
    The beginnings of Jewish settlement in Čkyně date back to the 16th century. In 1825, the town had 677 inhabitants, of which 151 were Jews; by 1930, there were only 11. The second Jewish prayer room was built there in 1828.
    The synagogue in Čkyně, along with the synagogue in Bechyně, is the oldest preserved Jewish house of worship in South Bohemia, the only synagogue in the Prachatice district, and one of the last preserved village synagogues in Bohemia.