The 17th century Great Synagogue in the small village of Tykocin, in northeastern Poland, has been voted one of the “new seven wonders” of Poland, in the third edition of a readers’ contest sponsored by the Polish edition of National Geographic Traveller magazine.
Virtual Shtetl reports that the synagogue, dating from 1642 and restored in the 1970s as part of the district museum in Bialystok, was voted 5th place out of 32 nominees. As part of the district museum, the synagogue houses an exhibition of Judaica and related material. The ark is surrounded by painted carving and the inner walls and central four-pillar bimah bear paintings of prayers, texts and other decorative elements.
The natural landscape park ‘Dolinki Krakowskie’ tops the list of winners. The other five Polish wonders include the castle of the Piasts in Brzeg, the central weaving museum in Łódź, the castle hill in Cieszyn, the centre of glass legacy in Krosno and the 14th-century polychrome in the church in Małujowice. The Osowiec fortress in Goniądz was also nominated in this category.