Lancut - July 14, 2010

Interior of Lancut synagogue

Hebrew inscription - Lancut synagogue

Interior Wall of Lancut synagogue

Stones from Jewish Cemetery - Lancut, Poland

Ten Commandments above the Torah Ark - Lancut synagogue

Prior to WWII, Lancut had a thriving Jewish community, which made up about one-third of the town's population. Local Jewish cemeteries are the resting place of famous rabbis, and every year Hasidim come to pray at their graves.
The Lancut Synagogue, built in 1761, has a plain exterior, but its interior walls and ceiling are beautifully decorated with stucco work and paintings from the 18th through the 20th centuries. The synagogue is a rare surviving example of the four-pillar, vaulted synagogues built throughout the Polish lands in both wood and masonry from the 16th through the early 19th centuries.
The synagogue was set on fire during World War II, but survived because of its masonry construction. It was then used for storage of grain during the war. In 1956, with no Jews residing in Lancut, the town council proposed destroying the building. A member of the community persuaded the council to preserve the building as a museum and memorial to Lancut's destroyed Jewish community.