Nożyk Synagogue: Warsaw's only surviving pre-war synagogue

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The Nożyk Synagogue was endowed by the couple Rywka and Zalman Nożyk — prosperous Warsaw merchants — through a deed of gift to the Jewish community. Construction ran from 1898; the consecration took place in 1902. Zalman Nożyk did not live to see the opening, having died during the building work. Rywka Nożyk completed the project and presented the synagogue to the community on condition that it remain in use for centuries. The building, designed by Stefan Szyller, combined elements of Romanesque architecture with Moorish Revival decorative references, producing an architecture that was dignified and undemonstrative, fitting naturally into the tenement streetscape of Twarda Street.

Before 1939 Warsaw was the largest Jewish city in Europe after New York. The Jewish population numbered 375,000 — twenty-nine per cent of the city's residents. In the Muranów, Nalewki and surrounding districts alone, dozens of synagogues, thousands of shops, schools, theatres and cultural institutions operated. The Nożyk Synagogue was one among many — prestigious enough to host important community ceremonies, but neither the largest nor the most imposing. The Great Synagogue on Tłomackie, destroyed by the Germans on 16 May 1943 in the dramatic finale of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, was the greatest and most important.

The Germans occupied the Nożyk Synagogue in September 1939. Through the years of occupation the building served as a stable and fodder warehouse for horses — which paradoxically protected it from being burned, since it had practical value. The interior was entirely stripped: all liturgical elements were stolen or destroyed, the bimah and Aron HaKodesh were ransacked. The masonry structure survived.

After the war the synagogue stood derelict for several decades. The Warsaw Jewish Religious Community, with minimal resources, could not undertake restoration immediately. The turning point came in 1977 when Ronald Lauder — philanthropist and future US Ambassador to Austria — funded the restoration project. Work was completed in 1983; the Nożyk Synagogue returned to religious use as the seat of the Warsaw Jewish Religious Community. Today it is an active Orthodox synagogue where regular services, bar mitzvah ceremonies and chuppot are held.

The Nożyk Synagogue is a two-storey building with a dome over the main nave, set within the tenement development of Twarda Street. The architect Stefan Szyller combined elements of Romanesque architecture — round-arched rundbogenstil windows, rusticated piers — with Oriental accents in the stucco decoration of the interior. The external facade is relatively restrained, with circular windows and an arcaded portal.

The interior of the main hall, covered by a vault with a central lantern beneath the dome, is organised by four pilasters defining the nave space. The bimah stands centrally, with the lectern facing the Aron HaKodesh on the eastern wall. The women's gallery (mechitza) runs along three sides of the nave at first-floor level, reached by a separate staircase. The Aron HaKodesh is decorated with columns and gilding, with the ner tamid hanging before the ark. The stained-glass windows were made following the 1980s restoration.

The Nożyk Synagogue is an active Orthodox synagogue and the headquarters of the Warsaw Jewish Religious Community. Visiting takes place between services — generally Sunday to Thursday 10:00 to 20:00, Friday 10:00 to shortly before nightfall. On Shabbat and Jewish festivals the synagogue is closed to tourists. An entry fee is charged.

Head covering is obligatory for men — kippot are available at the entrance. Women enter the women's gallery via a separate entrance. Photography inside is strictly prohibited. A donation at the desk or in the collection box supports the activities of the community and the upkeep of the building.

Zasady wizyty:

• • Nakrycie głowy mężczyzn: wymagane
• • Separacja płci: tak (ortodoksyjna)
• • Fotografia: NIE dozwolona
• • Datek: oczekiwany

The Nożyk Synagogue is at ul. Twarda 6, two hundred metres from the former ghetto boundary at the Monument to the Ghetto Heroes and four hundred metres from the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews. The Mercedes V-Class arrives via Sienna or Złota Street. Nearby parking: Grzybowska Street, Sosnowa Street, underground at Złote Tarasy shopping centre (700 m). Walking time from Warsaw Central Station is ten minutes.