Krzysztof Bielawski, of Virtual Shtetl, reports (on V-S) that there is a good chance that the vacant synagogue in Cieszanów, southeast Poland, may be restored. Built in 1889 and used as a grains storehouse after World War II, it has stood empty since the 1990s and until recently was in ruinous condition in danger of collapse.
Krzysztof reports that in 2013, “thanks to the support of the Monuments’ Restorer in the Podkarpackie Province, the ceiling was restored and entirely roofed.”
The local municipal government, he writes, now wants to continue conservation works and use the building as a cultural center.
The plan was discussed Dec. 20 at a meeting between Mayor Zdzisław Zadworny and the New York rabbis Leibus Rubin, Jakov Symcha Rubin and Chaim Rubin, who are descendants of the local Tzadik Symcha Isachar Ber Halbersztam — whose ohel, restored in the 1990s by the Nissenbaum Foundation, is the only surviving grave marker in the Jewish cemetery. (Krzysztof also attended the meeting, along with teacher Anna Pajączkowska, Tomasz Róg, a historian and worker at the Cieszanów cultural center, and others.)
According to Krzysztof, the rabbis approved the town’s plan for the synagogue, and also discussed upkeep of the Tzadik’s ohel.
They want the reconstructed façade [of the synagogue] to be as similar to the prewar original as possible. They also desire that all original interior architectural and decorative elements be preserved (such as polychrome relics). They find it crucial that no religious elements unrelated to Judaism appear in the synagogue. They would like the synagogue to be open to visitors for prayers.
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