The synagogue in Żółkiew is one of the most beautiful Jewish temples in the world. A fortified building, whose basic form is of the Renaissance style, enriched with Baroque touches, it was supposed to serve as a refuge for the local qahal, should the Cossacks, Turks or Tatars invade the town. The orthodox house of prayer was supposedly designed by the architect Piotr Beber, appointed by Sobieski to give a new shape to it. Although there is no direct evidence that it was indeed the case, the similarity of solutions and the time when he constructed buildings in Zółkiew suggest that he was indeed the architect of the synagogue.
The first Jews arrived in Żółkiew at the times of Stanisław Żółkiewski, who allowed them to settle down in the town in 1600 and consented to the construction of a ritual bath, brewery and butchery. Initially, the Orthodox Jewish community in Żółkiew had a wooden temple in the northern quarter of the town, where the Jewish district was located. The first building was erected specifically for this purpose in 1625 with the consent of the new land owner, Stanisław Daniłowicz, son of Rus Voivode Jan and Zofia nee Żółkiewska and grandson, on the distaff side, of Hetman Stanisław Żółkiewski. After the Hetman's death at Cecora, the town was inherited by his son Jan (from his marriage with Regina nee Herbut), who died of wounds suffered during the Battle of Cecora soon after his return from captivity (in 1623), which meant extinction of the male line of the Hetman's family. The properties of the Żółkiewski family were inherited by the Daniłowicz family (via the Hetman's daughter Zofia, Jan's wife; the second daughter, Katarzyna, married to Stanisław Koniecpolski, had died in 1616) and, after their son Stanisław's tragic death (1636), through the marriage of the Hetman's granddaughter Teofila Daniłowicz to Jakub Sobieski, they were acquired by the family of the future king Jan III. The wooden synagogue in Żółkiew was modest: it had a prayer room for men, a closet with scrolls of the Holy Bible (Aron Kodesh) on the Eastern wall, a platform for speakers (bema), a vestibule and a separate room for women.
After a fire in late 1630s, Daniłowicz consented to the construction of a brick building in 1635. This, however, required substantial funds and raising money for this purpose at times of wars and decline of trade in the borderlands took some time. Thanks to a donation (6,000 Polish zlotys) from the new Lord of Żółkiew, Jan III, a grand synagogue was built from 1692 to 1698. In honour of the ruler, Jews called it "Di Sobieski-szul". The royal privilege - construction permit - dated for 1687, was signed by Jan III and prince Konstanty. "The abovementioned synagogue may be built in the same location, bricked and with foundations, according to any exterior and interior design they may wish to have. We will not pose any obstacles to erecting the synagogue or to using stone from the mountains [quarries] located on our lands, nor will we allow anyone to interfere with their or their descendants' prayers in it [...]."
Since it was located in a direct vicinity of Christian churches, the synagogue was erected on the basis of a permit issued by the Lviv Archbishop Jan Lipski in 1692. Due to other factors, the building had to be fortified and its size had to be such that the attic could not be seen from the market square.
The synagogue was built of stone, on a square plan; its thick walls were supported with robust buttresses on the North and East side. The roof was hidden behind a defensive attic. Along the western attic runs an ornamental crest with openwork turrets in the corners. On the South side, a vaulted female section adjoined the main room. The façade was decorated with the coats of arms of the Sobieski family and the Commonwealth (the same motifs were displayed on the internal polychrome). The main room was covered with a nine-section vault supported on four pillars. The synagogue was extended in the 18th century by adding a West wing (hallway with three late Baroque portals). After a fire in the town in 1833, the temple was restored to a perfect condition; it became a major religious centre and one of the most important schools of theological studies.
King Jan III allowed the Jewish community to operate a Talmudic printing house, the first in the country (1 November 1690). This privilege made it possible to distribute books published in Żółkiew across the country. Many world-famous rabbis, scientists and artists came from the Jewish community on Żółkiew: the philosopher Natan Krochmal, the scholar Aleksander Sender Schor, the writer and doctor of oriental studies Majer Letteria, the printer Uri Feibusha Halevi, and the Galicja expert Elizer Fawir. Jan Matejko devoted a lot of his artistic attention to the synagogue.
In 1908, the synagogue roof was repaired and in the interwar period the stucco decorations were carefully renovated. On the first day of the occupation, Germans set fire to the temple and later destroyed one part of it and used another part as warehouse. The Jewish community disappeared; only about 70 Jews from Żółkiew survived the Holocaust. The synagogue did not recover during the times of the Soviet Union. A part of it was reconstructed between 1955 to 1956, but the very low quality of work resulted in a building disaster in 1992. Today, the building is derelict and decrepit, but if it is ever renovated (reconstruction started in 2000, but was interrupted due to lack of funds), it will be once again what it should always be: a pearl of the Renaissance architecture of this part of Europe. The best proof that the temple is admirable is the fact that its four exact copies serve the faithful in Israel and another one - in distant Brazil.
Translation: Lingua Lab
