Synagogue in Praga district

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The synagogue in the Praga-North district of Warsaw had the rare shape of a round building. Heavily damaged, it survived the Second World War. It was demolished in 1961 at the latest (the exact date is not known).

T he synagogue was built in 1836. It was financed by Dow Ber Sonnenberg, a member of one of the most famous and wealthiest families of Jewish origin in Warsaw.

During the Second World War, the prayer house was converted by the National Socialists into a delousing facility. The Red Army installed a military hospital in the building after the occupation of right-wing Warsaw. After the end of the war, the prayer house was secured. The first service was held in July 1945.

The Jewish Central Committee had no financial means to reconstruct the synagogue. The building fell into ruin and was demolished in 1961 at the latest. From the rubble, they piled up the small hill that is visible today. Today there is a children’s playground on the site, which belongs to the adjacent kindergarten (address of the kindergarten: Jagiellonska 28). The hill is visible from the street. The fence is still from the time when the synagogue was built.

The structure was made of brick and was built on a circular floor plan in the Neoclassical style, with a lower two-storey section containing galleries for women and three small porticoes to the north, west and south. On the east side was a semi-circular apse in which the Aron ha-kodesh was placed. The building had a conical roof and the outer terrace aisle had a pulpit roof. The main entrance (for men) was through the western portico, while women entered the synagogue through the southern portico. In the centre of the building was an octagonal chancel. A unique solution was the radial arrangement of the pews.

The interior was very modestly furnished and had few ornaments and decorations.

It was one of the first round synagogues in Europe.