At Jerozolimska Street 29 in Piotrków Trybunalski stands a building that architectural historians consider one of the most valuable Judaic monuments in Poland. The Great Synagogue was built between 1791 and 1793, funded by Mojżesz Kocyn, probably to a design by the Jewish architect Dawid Friedlander. It was erected on the site of an earlier wooden synagogue, which burned down in a fire in 1689 - like many other landmarks of Piotrków from that period.
Why this synagogue is exceptional
The Great Synagogue in Piotrków is today among the best-preserved buildings of its kind in the whole country. While in most Polish cities pre-war synagogues were destroyed by the Germans during the occupation or demolished after the war, the building in Piotrków survived - because it did not serve a religious function during the occupation and was instead used for other purposes, which spared it from a planned demolition.
The building's shape, its characteristic, monumental classicist architecture, and to a large extent the original interior layout have survived - a rarity nationwide, where most surviving synagogues today are just empty walls without their original decor.
Piotrków as a centre of Jewish life
Before the war, Piotrków was one of the more important centres of Jewish life in the Łódź region - the Jewish community made up a significant share of the city's residents. The Great Synagogue was the central place of worship, alongside the smaller, so-called Little Synagogue from 1765, standing right next to it.
What the building houses today
The Great Synagogue has not served a religious function for decades. The building currently serves as the temporary seat of the State Archive in Piotrków Trybunalski, and part of the premises is occupied by the municipal library. This is a solution typical for many former synagogues in Poland - the building is preserved by giving it a new, secular function instead of leaving it empty.
For visitors, this means that entry inside is possible mainly during the working hours of these institutions, rather than as a classic tourist visit with a guide or an entrance ticket - it's worth checking this before a visit by calling the Piotrków Tourist Information Centre.
How to visit the synagogue
From the outside, the building can be viewed daily, without restrictions - that alone is worth stopping for longer, since the scale and architectural details are impressive even without going inside. Piotrków Trybunalski lies about an hour's drive or train ride from Łódź, which makes it a realistic destination for a day trip, especially combined with touring the rest of the old town and the Crown Tribunal.
The Trail of Many Cultures
The city runs an official tourist trail covering the Great and Little Synagogues, part of a broader route through Piotrków's multicultural history - alongside Christian landmarks stand traces of the city's once-large Jewish community. The Tourist Information Centre in Piotrków organises walks along this trail and provides up-to-date information on the accessibility of the buildings.
What else to see in the region
Anyone interested in the Jewish history of the Łódź region can combine a visit to Piotrków with other places of a similar type. In Łódź itself it's worth seeing the Reicher Synagogue, the only pre-war synagogue in the city that survived the occupation, and the New Jewish Cemetery on Bracka Street, the largest surviving Jewish necropolis in Europe.
More sacred landmarks of the region can be found among the churches and monasteries of Piotrków and in the list of places of worship in Łódź, and a broader historical context of the region is gathered in the Discover Łódź section.
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