STYLE

Synagogue of Krnov Renewed to Its

Original Form

Only a few sights remain to remind us of the history and traditions of the Jewish community in

this region, and none so intensely as the recently renewed Synagogue of Krnov. As a matter of

fact, it could be seen as a miracle that a synagogue in a town like Krnov actually survived the Nazi

occupation and continues to exist -- a miracle which might be due to the local Jewish population

removing all symbols of their faith from the sanctuary in time. When the occupying Germans needed

a room to run the town market, they unwittingly chose the synagogue.

The synagogue also escaped pogroms,

another miracle in a German town, which

Krnov basically was at that time. At the

time, both German and Czech news

outlets reported that the synagogue had

burnt down, but this was misinformed: it

was not the synagogue but the Ceremonial

Hall at the Jewish Cemetery in another part

of the town that was destroyed.

Thus, through luck and clever thinking, the

synagogue remains. The Neo-Romanesque

building with Moorish-style interiors is still

worth adoration, probably more than ever

now that it has been restored to look like it

did in 1871, when it was originally finished.

A visitor can once again find symbols

of the faith there. Writing in Hebrew,

once painted over, has been uncovered

and restored, as well. When searching

for original furnishing, even the original

organ, constructed by the local (yet worldfamous) company Rieger-Kloss, was

found. Representatives of the producer

discovered the instrument in a Catholic

church in the Polish town of Koszarawa.

However, the organ will not be brought

back to Krnov as the Polish parish legally

bought the instrument in 1938. In 2006,

an original Torah scroll, rescued by local

Jews in 1938, was found in a synagogue in

Jerusalem.

Searching for the roots of Judaism in Krnov,

let me mention the local Jewish cemetery. It

is in another part of the city, a fair distance

from the synagogue. The deserted cemetery,

situated amongst gardens and houses at the

edge of town in the direction of Opava, is

open to the public. The lonely cemetery

certainly completes the picture of what

Krnov and the area around Osoblaha to

Ostrava inhabited by the Jewish population

used to be, and how this population

contributed to developments in the region.

The synagogue and cemetery in Krnov

commemorate the Jewish community in

the town and region.

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