Former Synagogue in Wałbrzych

On Mickiewicza Street in the centre of Wałbrzych there once stood a brick synagogue, built in 1883. The building did not survive Kristallnacht in 1938 and was never rebuilt after the war; today no trace of it remains.

What the synagogue looked like

The building was brick-built and two storeys high, erected on a rectangular plan. Its main distinguishing feature was the semi-circular windows on the upper floor. The front featured a portal with a door and a central window, and in front of the building was a small square with a garden. There were no distinctive Jewish decorations on the exterior.

Kristallnacht

On the night of 9 to 10 November 1938, Nazi paramilitary squads set fire to the synagogue. This was one of many attacks on Jewish places of worship across Germany that night, known as Kristallnacht.

After the war

After the end of the Second World War the building was not rebuilt. On the plot where the synagogue had stood, a new building was erected, which later housed the restaurant "Nie bo mleczne", now closed. No visible trace of the former synagogue remains today; no plaque or other marker was put up there.

Practical information

• Location: formerly on Mickiewicza Street, in the centre of Wałbrzych; the building no longer exists
• A different building now stands on the site, the area is a publicly accessible urban space, there is nothing here to visit
• Nearby: Jerzy Szaniawski Drama Theatre, the Mausoleum in Wałbrzych and the Stara Kopalnia Science and Art Centre