Suburb Synagogue Bardejov

The Jewish suburbium is a unique complex of buildings of the Jewish community from the 18th century: a synagogue, a school, a bathhouse, a slaughterhouse, a building of the community authorities and a cemetery.

The oldest building in the Jewish quarter (suburbium) is the Old Synagogue. It was built in 1836. Its center is a prayer room for men. It is covered with a nine-pole vault supported by four pillars with a bimah in the middle. Inside the synagogue, there are beautiful Moorish-style polychromes. Above the entrance there is a neoclassical portico with stairs. The niches about 40 cm deep on the eastern wall, which were used to store prayer books, are specific. An interesting artifact is the Hebrew dedication inscription referring to the construction of the synagogue, which is located above the entrance to the main hall on its western wall. The floor of the synagogue is definitely below the ground level. The deepening of the floor traditionally symbolizes the humility of the faithful, and in fact it is caused by the fact that at that time Jewish buildings could not be higher than Christian churches, so they were let into the ground. The building has 12 windows, symbolizing the number of the tribes of Israel.