One of Poland's most beautiful synagogues has received a substantial grant from the European Union.
The Sephardi Synagogue in the south eastern town of Zamosc was purchased by Cracow's Jewish community some years ago, and it is currently undergoing renovation.
The Zamosc synagogue is remarkable not only for its survival, but also for its place in the wider puzzle of the town's history. Zamosc was the most perfect European realization of the Renaissance concept of the 'ideal city,' and the lion's share of the town has managed to come through the ages in astonishingly good shape.
Zamosc was founded in 1580 by Chancellor Jan Zamoyski, a humanist, who endowed this private world with one of the finest seats of learning in central Europe. Reflecting the unique spirit of tolerance that distinguished Renaissance Poland, Zamoyski settled the town with many ethnic minorities, providing dignified locations for houses of worship for Armenians, Greek Catholics, Jews and Roman Catholics.
The Nazis renamed the town Himmlerstadt during the war, and the vast majority of the towns Jewish population was exterminated. Soon thereafter, Zamosc was turned into a bastion of German resettlement. Tens of thousands of Poles were deported, many of whom, particularly children, perished.
The Zamosc synagogue, known to Roza Luxemburg, who grew up in Zamosc, is an outstanding example of it's kind. It was founded in 1610, but seized to function as a house of worship with the coming of the Nazis. After the war, the building survived as a library. The synagogue is set to be officially reopened in 2007, and the duty will most likely fall to Zamosc's President, Marcin Zamoyski, who by an extraordinary twist of fate, is the legal heir of the city's founder, Jan Zamoyski. After the collapse of communism, Marcin Zamoyski was twice elected president of the town, and last year he led the celebrations for the 400th anniversary of the passing of the city's founder, and the 425th anniversary of the foundation itself.
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