Great Synagogue

The Great Synagogue in Plzeň is hard to miss on a walk through the city centre — two 45-metre towers rise just a short distance from the Cathedral of St. Bartholomew, and the building behind them is the largest synagogue in the Czech Republic, the second largest in Europe and the third largest in the world. That scale wasn't the original plan, and the story of how it got scaled down is almost as interesting as the building itself.

Why is it so big — and why not bigger?

The Jewish community bought the land in 1874, and the foundation stone was laid on 2 December 1888. The first design, by Viennese architect Max Fleischer, was a Gothic-style building with twin towers reaching 65 metres — tall enough to rival the nearby cathedral. Plzeň's city councillors weren't willing to let that happen and rejected the plan.

A revised design followed in 1890 from Emanuel Klotz. He kept the ground plan and foundations already laid around the cornerstone, but cut the towers down by 20 metres and switched the style to a mix of Romanesque and Neo-Renaissance forms finished with Moorish, Oriental-style ornamentation — the striped arches and geometric patterning on the façade, crowned with a large Star of David. Master builder Rudolf Štech saw the construction through to completion, and the synagogue was finished in 1893, paid for entirely through voluntary donations from a Jewish community that numbered around 2,000 people at the time.

What did the building live through in the 20th century?

The synagogue's fate tracked the fate of Plzeň's Jewish community. Under German occupation it was first used as a storage depot for furniture confiscated from deported Jews, then converted into a workshop where uniforms were sewn for German soldiers. In May 1945, during the liberation of Plzeň by the American army, the building took damage from gunfire — the German garrison had been using its towers as defensive positions.

After the war the building returned to a Jewish community devastated by the war years, but under the communist regime it was closed for worship — services continued only in a small prayer room inside the nave — while the deteriorating structure was used to store furniture salvaged from other religious buildings demolished elsewhere in the region.

What does it look like today?

After 1989, representatives of the Plzeň Jewish community sent hundreds of letters to Jewish communities in the United States asking for help funding a restoration. The synagogue was declared a cultural monument in 1992, and repairs to its exterior shell ran from 1995 to 1997, with the building reopening to the public in spring 1998. A second, far more extensive phase of work — this time focused on the interior — took place between 2019 and 2022, ending with a formal reopening on 10 April 2022.

Today the Great Synagogue combines its original religious function with a second life as a concert and exhibition venue: its acoustics and atmosphere make it a sought-after setting for classical music performances. The upper galleries hold a permanent exhibition on the history of Plzeň's Jewish community.

Frequently asked questions

Is the Great Synagogue in Plzeň really one of the largest in the world? Yes — it's the largest synagogue in the Czech Republic, the second largest in Europe and the third largest worldwide.

Who designed the building? The first, rejected design came from Viennese architect Max Fleischer. The final building, blending Romanesque, Neo-Renaissance and Moorish elements, was designed by Emanuel Klotz and completed under master builder Rudolf Štech.

Can visitors go inside today? Yes. Alongside its religious use, the synagogue functions as a concert and exhibition hall, with a permanent exhibition on local Jewish history displayed on the upper galleries.

Why are the towers shorter than originally planned? The first design called for 65-metre towers that would have rivalled the height of the nearby Cathedral of St. Bartholomew. The city council rejected it, and the revised design lowered the towers by 20 metres.