Turnov synagogue will reopen to the public after the renovation

Turnov (Semilsko) - The former Turnov synagogue, which has been completely renovated in the past two years, will open to the public for the first time from Thursday to Sunday. In the future, the city wants to use it for organizing cultural and educational events. Eliška Gruberová from the Turnov information center informed ČTK about this.
    It will be closed to visitors during the winter, but starting from the next tourist season, people will see original liturgical objects from Turnov and an exhibition of the Jewish Museum in Prague that will map the history of Jewish settlement in the Turnov area.
    According to Gruberová, the total costs of the repairs amounted to 14.27 million crowns. In 2006, the city received support from the so-called Norwegian funds of over 280,000 euros for the renovation of the synagogue. However, a strong crown and currency losses caused that instead of the 8.5 million crowns the municipality had counted on, it was two million less.
    The Turnov synagogue was built in 1747 and, as the only one in northern Bohemia, survived the Nazi attacks, which destroyed synagogues in nearly all German and northern Czech towns in November 1938. It ceased to serve its original religious purpose shortly after World War II, when the remnants of the once strong Jewish culture in Turnov practically disappeared. For years, the building served as a storage for dishes, and in 1990 it passed into private hands. The town hall acquired it in 2003, exchanging it with the owner for a neighboring house with attractive commercial spaces.
    The renovation of the synagogue began with the removal of artificially created foreign elements and the uncovering of original paintings. It was preceded by a rescue archaeological survey that determined the process. Among other things, the builders constructed new toilets in the courtyard. However, they also had to repair the roof structure, roof, and the building's exterior. Experts from the Jewish Museum in Prague supervised the reconstruction process.