Synagogue in Skoczów

The synagogue in Skoczów no longer exists: built in 1853, it was demolished by the Germans in September 1939. A monument from 1994 stands on its site.

The synagogue and the Jewish community

The synagogue was built in 1853 on a plot donated by the Sperling family, who ran a well-known saddler's workshop on Skoczów's Market Square. It stood on the corner of today's ul. Adama Mickiewicza and ul. Cieszyńska. An independent Jewish religious community in Skoczów was formed in 1893, and its president for many years was Heimann Urbach.

Demolition and remembrance

In September 1939 the synagogue was demolished and after the war it was not rebuilt. In 2013, during work in the park, its foundations were uncovered.

On 21 June 1994 descendants of Heimann Urbach unveiled a monument with an inscription in Polish and Hebrew: "On this site from 1853 to 1939 stood a Jewish synagogue destroyed by the Nazis."

Practical information

• Place: the junction of ul. Mickiewicza and ul. Cieszyńska in Skoczów, in a park.
• The monument is freely accessible. Nearby, about 100 metres away, is the Jan Sarkander Museum, and not far away the Gustaw Morcinek Museum.