The restoration of the ornate, red-brick Ceremonial Hall at the “New” Jewish cemetery in the southern Polish city Gliwice, begun in mid-2014, is nearing completion, and the Jewish Museum slated to be installed there is due to open in early 2016.
Piotr Jakowenko, of the Brama Cukerman Foundation, who is involved with the Museum design, tells JHE that
The beautiful brick façade has been cleaned as well as part of the fence. New systems of floor heating and ventilation have been installed. Door and window carpentry has been renewed or reconstructed. Murals on the walls of the main ceremonial hall have been restored in 100%. New floors have been laid in the whole building. At present stained glass windows which decorated the main hall are being reconstructed. Also the main gate is undergoing restoration processes. All operations are performed under the supervision of the Silesian office of the National Heritage Board of Poland.
The neo-Gothic building, with vaulted interiors and facade marked by a large central arched window, was constructed in 1903 and designed by the wellknown architect Max Fleischer, who also among other things, designed four synagogues and the City Hall in Vienna. (At that time the city was part of Germany and known as Gleiwitz.)
Devastated during World War II, the building was partially transformed into apartments after the war, but its condition degraded over the years. The Jewish Community of Katowice donated the building to the city of Gliwice in 2008, but apart from repair of the roof, nothing was done to safeguard the building, pending concrete plans for its use — and despite years of lobbying for it to be converted into a cultural space highlighting Jewish history and culture.
Things changed in In 2012, when the ”Brama Cukermana” Foundation proposed to create in the building the Museum of Upper Silesian Jews — a plan accepted by local authorities. The local government of the city of Gliwice designated the local museum as the curator of the building and allocated funds for the renovation and transformation.
Piotr Jakowenko writes:
An exhibition presenting the history of Upper Silesian Jews is also in the final stage of preparations. Its project is being created by the SENNA collective (Natalia Romik, Sebastian Kucharuk, Piotr Jakoweńko). A representative of the Gliwice Municipal Museum Bożena Kubit is responsible for the substantive issues. A relatively small space will accommodate an intimate exhibition, which thanks to modern technology and interactive elements will create a factually and visually rich narrative. One will find there many previously unpublished documents and graphic material, found during an extensive query all over the world.
Click to see a Facebook photo gallery of the restored building
Piotr Jakoweńko
1 comment on “Poland: Gliwice restoration nearing completion”
Hi — I am writing you from North Dakota, USA. Congratulations on creating the Jewish Museum in Gliwice. My paternal ancestry hails from Katowice. My dad was born there and he lived there into his late teens. I believe his parents and his grandparents lived and worked there also. Good luck with the evolution of this cultural institution — Emanuel