OLD SYNAGOGUE IN OPOLE

The former synagogue building of the Opole Jewish community, known as the "Old Synagogue", is located at Szpitalna Street. Its history dates back to 1841, when the efforts of the local Jewish community succeeded in erecting the first temple for Opole's Jews. The building of the old synagogue is located among the tenement houses on Opole's Młynówka Street. It was built on a rectangular plan with a gable roof and a "Rundbogenstil" facade. In 1893, two risalits were added to the synagogue, designed by Felix Henrÿ, a Wrocław architect, creator of the later architectural concept of the New Synagogue on Pasieka Island in Opole. The interior of the building housed the Jewish community's school and administration, as well as a prayer hall on the first floor. Over the years, the synagogue became insufficient for the community, so the decision was made to build the New Synagogue. Due to the enormous financial needs for the construction of the new temple, it was decided that the Old Synagogue would be sold. In early 1897, it was sold to the well-known Raabe family of printers, who established their lithographic workshop there. The money obtained from the sale enabled the completion of the construction of a new synagogue on the Pasieka Island. The last service in the Old Synagogue was held in June 1897.

It was probably thanks to its sale and the end to its religious function that it was spared a terrible fate during Kristallnacht on 9–10 November 1938. In the post-war years, it housed the offices of the Polish Workers' Party, and later a bookshop and a warehouse. In the 1970s, the interior of the Old Synagogue was significantly remodelled. Fragments of stained-glass windows decorating the interior have survived to this day.

Currently, the structure houses the headquarters of the Opole regional branch of Polish Television (TVP). The interior is not accessible to visitors.