WARSAW, Poland (JTA) — A Polish Jewish foundation is planning to open a revamped Jewish museum in a reconstructed 17th century synagogue.
The Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage in Poland is aiming to open the museum in the Great Synagogue in Leczna, in Lublin province, in 2016, with a focus on the town’s Jewish community.
The baroque synagogue was mostly destroyed during and after World War II. It was reconstructed in the 1950s and ’60s, retaining the most important architectural elements of the former synagogue, including its wooden ceilings, the bimah and the Torah ark.
Since 1966, the synagogue has housed a regional museum, which has in its collection some valuable Judaica.
In 2013, the synagogue was transferred to the Jewish community and placed under the foundation’s responsibility.
The revamped museum could become part of the Chasidic Route — the project implemented by the foundation tracing the Jewish communities of southeastern Poland. Twenty-eight communities have joined the project.
