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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