Ahavat Raim Synagogue

The Ahavat Raim Synagogue, that is the Love of One's Neighbour, was housed in the Jordan townhouse at Szpitalna 24 in the Old Town. Today a tserkva operates in the building, and nothing of the original furnishings has survived.

How the synagogue came about

The synagogue was founded around 1900, when the merchant Selig Hirsch Steif handed over the Jordan townhouse to the Jewish Association of Good Aspirations, which adapted it for prayer. In 1927-1932 the building was thoroughly rebuilt to a design by Ferdynand Liebling and Jozue Oberleder, under the direction of the Ahavat Raim association, after which the synagogue took its name. The main prayer hall was on the first floor, and the women's galleries on the second floor.

The fate of the building after 1939

During the Second World War the Germans devastated the interior and set up a carpenter's workshop in it. In 1940 the building was given to the Orthodox parish, which, after alterations, set up a tserkva here. After the war the Jewish Religious Congregation claimed the building, but the claims were rejected. The building is still used by the Orthodox parish of the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Practical information

• Address: Szpitalna 24, Kraków (Old Town).
• The building is a working tserkva, so from the outside you see the townhouse, and entry to the interior depends on the parish.
• Nearby: the Juliusz Słowacki Theatre and the St Florian's Gate, both about 200 m away.