Zamość Synagogue
Zamość Synagogue () is a UNESCO-protected Renaissance synagogue built between 1610 and 1618 in Zamość, southeastern Poland. Erected during the times of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, it functioned as a place of worship for Polish Jews until World War II, when the Nazis turned the interior into a carpenters' workshop. The structure was spared from destruction and in 1992 it became a UNESCO World Heritage Site alongside the Old City of Zamość. History The first Jews settled in Zamość in 1588, eight years after the founding of the town by Chancellor Jan Zamoyski. They were Sephardim coming from the Ottoman Empire and Venice and consequently established the northernmost Sephardi community in Central and Eastern Europe. It was the Sephardim that built the first synagogue in Zamość in the 1590s as a wooden structure. In 1610, after restrictions prohibiting Jews from building synagogues from stone were rescinded, the current brick building was erected, taking eight years to complete. The original Sephardi community ceased to exist in the 1620s when it assimilated into the fledgling Ashkenazi community, following an economic crisis caused by the accumulation of bad debts by Polish debtors. Ashkenazi Jews had begun settling in Zamość at the beginning of the 17th century having been attracted by the commercial significance of the town. The influx of Ashkenazi Jews increased in the 1640s, especially by refugees fleeing the anti-Jewish massacres perpetrated by the troops of Bohdan Khmelnytsky during the Ukrainian revolt against Polish rule. Today only 3 Jews live in Zamość. In 1939 there were over 12,000 who made up 45% of the city's population. Of these only 5,000 managed to escape the Holocaust by crossing the Bug River, which in 1939 became the border with the Soviet Union. The Nazis imprisoned those remaining in a ghetto (the Zamość Ghetto), from which they were transported to the Bełżec death camp. During the Holocaust the synagogue suffered major damage, especially to the northern parts that were destroyed by the Germans. The synagogue was vandalized and looted and then used as a carpenters' workshop. During 1948–1950 it was rebuilt in the communist period and from 1958 until early in the 21st century the building served as a public library. A second restoration of the building was conducted during 1967-1972. Currently next to the building of the synagogue is the former office of the community, dating from the 18th century with additions from the 19th century, and the cheder. After the Second World War it was transformed into a hotel. The 18th century building of the former Mikveh, renovated in the 19th century, is located in the cellars at 3 Zamenhofa Street (previously ul. Żydowska - "Jewish Street"). The synagogue was one of the first properties to be officially returned to the Jewish community by the Polish government in 2000 and in 2004 the public library which used the building moved to another location. In 2009 a major reconstruction of the synagogue was underway under the auspices of the Warsaw-based Foundation for the Preservation of