Gorlice Market Square and Synagogue

The date when the city was founded is uncertain. Marcin Kromer states that it was in 1355. Probably the city was initially founded on Polish law, and from 1417 on German law. In the 19th century, the Gorlice region became the cradle of the oil industry. In the years 1853–1858, Ignacy Łukasiewicz, a constructor of the kerosene lamp, recognized as the father of the petroleum industry, had a workshop here. During World War I, one of the major battles, later known as the Battle of Gorlice, was fought in the vicinity of Gorlice, which left behind numerous war cemeteries scattered around nearby towns and forests.

Gorlice can boast of an urban layout preserved from the time of the city's foundation in the 14th century. The vast, terraced square in the shape of a square measures 90 mx 95 m and has streets running out from the corners. The western frontage of the market square is made up of old historic burgher houses. At ul. On Piekarska 5 we can find a tenement house from the end of the 18th century with a bas-relief of lions holding a coat of arms above the window.

The synagogue located at 3 Piekarska Street was built in the 18th century. In the first half of the nineteenth century, due to the rapid increase in the number of members of the local Jewish community, a shallow extension was added to the synagogue, housing a women's gallery on the ground floor, to which a staircase located in the extreme, even shallower range leads. During World War II, the synagogue building was desecrated by the Nazis, who made it a stable. In 1967, the building was converted into a mechanical bakery, which is still operating today. On the synagogue wall there is a memorial plaque commemorating about 2,500 Jews murdered by the Germans during the occupation.