A very important twist in Poznań. A former synagogue converted by the Germans into a municipal swimming pool has been added to the register of monuments . This is the result of the efforts of community activists and activists, as well as the actions of the Wielkopolska Regional Monuments Conservator.
The decision on the entry is a significant, though certainly not the last chapter in the complicated history of the former synagogue(we have already described it in detail and briefly remind you later in the text). A battle for the protection of the mutilated synagogue in Poznan (listed only in the register of historical monuments) has been going on for several years by community members and activists. This is because the building may be subject to extensive redevelopment into a hotel or residential building by a private investor. The implementation of the project (shown in public only during meetings with councilors and city authorities) may completely erase the memory of the original form and function of the building. According to an opinion just issued by the Wielkopolska Regional Conservator of Historical Monuments (WWKZ), the former character can still be read in the block converted into a swimming pool.
At the same time, the entry in the register does not apply to the entirety of the object transformed by the Germans, but to its original, most important parts. Only those that survived the conversion, without the fragments created as a result. The WWKZ document of May 16 reads, among other things, that it was decided to protect the former synagogue:
(...) as a testimony to the Jewish heritage and culture of Poznan in terms of the original elements of the synagogue building (including: parts of the perimeter walls of the inner dome with the pillars supporting it, the barrel vaults of the northern, southern and western wings, forming a central open space based on a plan similar to a Greek cross; fragments of the stone facing of the plinth, fragments of the brick facing of the walls with friezes and cornices made of brick moldings; remains of the original window openings) (...).
Former synagogue in Poznan at Wroniecka and Stawna Streets, interior, state before 1940
Source: www.poznan.pl (archives of the MKZ Office)
late joy
The application for entry into the registry was submitted more than a year ago by three associations: Miasteczko Poznań, Lazęga Poznań and Ahawas Tora. All activities are led by Maciej Krajewski (Lazęga Poznańska), who comments on the decision of the preservationists as follows:
I am very pleased. This is the decision we were hoping for. For the social side it is a great satisfaction and a breakthrough. For our view of the matter has been confirmed by professionals from various fields in a detailed and reasoned document. The provincial conservator acted very consistently, a lot was helped by a local inspection of the interior, which made us realize how many elements were preserved for protection. However, it is hard not to notice that all this could have happened much earlier - on the initiative of the relevant municipal units responsible for heritage, culture and historic preservation. Sad and strange are their long-standing passivity and lack of initiative, including the lack of action on an ideological and architectural competition for the design of the use of this building.
Former New Synagogue in Poznan, Stawna/Wroniecka Street, condition before reconstruction in 1940-43
Source: author's archive, pre-1918 postcard
In fact, the city authorities or its institutions have hardly bothered in recent decades to protect the only such significant testimony to the centuries-old Jewish presence in Poznan. It's as if they were unaware of its complicated and difficult history, which began in 1907. It was then, on the outskirts of the strict Old Town, that the magnificent building of the New Synagogue, based on a competition design by Cremer & Wolffenstein, was opened. Covered by a high dome, the building measured 45 meters, combining Moorish and Romanesque stylistic motifs. It served its function until September 1939. In 1940-43 the Germans converted it into a swimming pool. They simplified and lowered the body, removed, scraped or painted over decorations and symbols. After the war, the Poles preserved this condition. The swimming pool in the former synagogue served them until 2011. After that, it occasionally hosted artistic events.
Earlier, in 2001, the City handed over the decapitated building to the local, very small Jewish community (without compensation for several decades of use). This one maintained the operation of the swimming pool, but ultimately planned to arrange a "Center for Dialogue and Judaism" in the building. However, it failed to cope with this task and in 2014 entered into an agreement with a private fund, planning a hotel function in the building. The reconstruction and adaptation projects presented at the time were of very poor quality.
indifference and demolition
Eventually in 2016 the City issued a building permit, and in 2019 the Jewish community sold the building to a private company. All the while, it was emphasized that the converted building would house a memorial to Poznan's Jews. However, no work started, the edifice was deteriorating, and in 2023 a small fire broke out in it (it was after this that Krajewski started a wider campaign for the synagogue than before). At the same time, a new idea of adaptation for residential purposes emerged. The owner, Campione Investment 2 from Wroclaw, presented the authorities with a concept, for which Poznan architects Przemyslaw Borkowicz (d. 2022) and his son Iwo were responsible. At the end of 2023, an updated local plan for the Old Town was passed. It included, among other things, allowing a residential function in the former synagogue.
Concept for the redevelopment of the former synagogue in Poznan, designed by Przemyslaw and Iwo Borkowicz - visuals shown during the session of the Poznan City Council on 5.12.2023
Source: skyscrapercity.com, profile: PB Projekt Inwestor (www.skyscrapercity.com/members/pb.2101/)
The prevailing voice among decision-makers all along was that since the municipality took over the building, the future of the building is solely its business. "Since the Jews sold it, I would knock it down," said a high-ranking official a few years ago. Earlier, in 2007, the demolition of the building was proposed by art historian Marcin Libicki. Mayor Jacek Jaskowiak, in turn, ruled that he would not make anyone (read: the Jewish community that sold the building) happy by force. The decision-makers ignored the fact that the small and unwieldy Poznań community does not represent the Jewish community as a whole, and that the edifice and its history are significant to Poznań's heritage. They also did not seem to have imagined the image and tourist benefits that a city could derive from an interestingly used synagogue. Hence the action by Krajewski and other associations, as well as the decision by the WWKZ to begin work on registering it last February (it froze any construction work on the building).
must-read
It remains to be hoped, therefore, that decision-makers will carefully read the dozen-page-long document of the provincial conservator, which rains down many substantive arguments supported by extensive documentation and bibliography. Among other things, we read in it about the unique character of the building:
The remains of the synagogue in Poznan, with its preserved central interior layout, in view of the complete destruction of other examples of dome synagogues with central plans in Central and Western Europe, are a unique and valuable testimony to this trend in synagogue construction.
There are also polemics in the document with the opinions of restorers presented by the owner, claiming that "the building does not resemble a temple and is associated only with a swimming pool." We also read that "the remains are a testimony to a bygone era, the preservation of which is in the public interest due to its exceptional historical and scientific value."
The former synagogue in Poznan at Wroniecka and Stawna Streets, as of 2023
photo: Jakub Głaz
Krajewski therefore does not lose hope:
I keep hoping that there are wise and sensitive people in Poznan who will bring about a change in the existing situation, such as a thorough redesign or even a buyout of the building. This happened with synagogues in several cities in Greater Poland, which were taken care of by local governments. Why can't this be the case in Poznan? After all, it's an excellent place to promote multiculturalism, showcase the city's complex history and make creative use of architecture mutilated by the Germans.
A new idea and approach are necessary, because the WWKZ decision overturns the previous plans of Campione Investment 2. The latter will probably fight for its own. In the course of the proceedings it has repeatedly tried to challenge the legitimacy of the registration. It is therefore more than likely that - in accordance with the law - it will appeal the WWKZ decision to the General Conservator of Antiquities.
