Surprising Synagogue Splendor in Rakovník, Czech Republic

Rakovník, Czech Republic. former Synagogue, now Václav Rabas Art Gallery and Herold Concert Hall. Exterior and entrance. Photo: Samuel Gruber 2018.

Rakovník, Czech Republic. Former Synagogue,  Photo: Samuel Gruber 2018.

Rakovník, Czech Republic. Former Synagogue,  Photo: Samuel Gruber 2018.

Rakovník, Czech Republic. Former Synagogue,  Photo: Samuel Gruber 2018.

Surprising Synagogue Splendor in Rakovník, Czech Republic

by Samuel D. Gruber

Every foreign tourist to the Czech Republic goes to Prague; not so many go to Rakovník, located only 32 miles to the west. But the synagogue there (along with the rest of the town) is well worth a visit. The well-preserved and restored late 18th-century interior offers yet another example of synagogue design to the rich and varied Czech selection (see my recent posts about Plzen's Old Synagogue and New Synagogue). 

The Rakovník sanctuary space with its pumpkin-style eight-part dome is unusual for its shape and the rich palace-like Rococo decorations. The ark is a fine example of Baroque design, and there are fine small paintings of biblical themes, and well preserved early 20th century stained glass windows. 

Jews are first recorded  living in Rakovník1441. Between 1618 and 1621 three Jewish families from the nearby town of Senomaty came to live at Rakovník and by 1690 there were 38 Jews living in the town. 

According to Czech synagogue historian Jaroslav Klenovsky, author of The Gates of the righteous: Synagogues in Moravia, Silesia and Bohemia, the Baroque synagogue was probably founded in 1763-64 through the conversion of a private house that had previously contained a prayer room. In 1792 the synagogue was apparently rebuilt and enlarged in a more Rococo style, and the hall was expanded again in 1865. The building was further modified in 1912, from when the Ark wall stained glass windows are dated, and again in 1917 and after a fire in 1920, in 1924-27. Services were held here until the fall of 1941.The Jews of Rakovník were deported to Terezin in 1942 and then on to death camps where most perished. Before the deportations though 239 documents, 30 books, and 150 ritual objects were transferred to the Central Jewish Museum in Prague where they are today. There is a small memorial plaque to those who perished affixed to the front of the synagogue, but it is so covered with vines it is hard to see and read. But inside the museum there is explanatory information available in several languages.

Rakovník, Czech Republic. Former Synagogue, Memorial plaque on exterior.  Photo: Samuel Gruber 2018.

After the World War II the building was used as a prayer hall by the Hussite Church and in 1950 it was converted into am art gallery and concert hall. A comprehensive restoration program took place form 1991 to 1994. It was thus one of the earliest of the Czech synagogue conserved, restored or refurbished after the fall of Communism.

The synagogue occupies the east half of a building that once held the Jewish school and the rabbi's house.  Women and men entered the building from a single entrance into a vaulted vestibule from which separate doors led to the left and down some steps into the main prayer room, and to the right to stairs to the women's balcony, which sat above the vestibule. The arched door to the men's space is from 1887-88 and has a gilt Hebrew inscription from Psalms 118:20 (This is the gate of the Lord, through which the righteous shall enter). Next to this portal is a stone shell-shaped tzedakah box with a metal lid.

Rakovník, Czech Republic. Former Synagogue. Plan of ground floor and gallery level. From J. Klenovsky,
The Gates of the righteous: Synagogues in Moravia, Silesia and Bohemia, p. 108.

Rakovník, Czech Republic. Former Synagogue,  Photo: Samuel Gruber 2018.

In the prayer hall the Ark is set on a platform at a higher level and then reached by four wooden steps, and the Ark wall facade south-east, but the present floor level may be he result of changes when the sanctuary was changed into a concert venue. The portal-type Ark has four columns, two of which are twisted. It is topped with baldachin and crown. 

Rakovník, Czech Republic. Former Synagogue,  Photo: Samuel Gruber 2018.

Rakovník, Czech Republic. Former Synagogue,  Photo: Samuel Gruber 2018.

The sanctuary is rectangular but looks square, thanks to the eight-section cupola which unites the space. The cupola is topped by cylindrical lantern. Pilasters with gilded capitals  support an open work cornice with stucco and painted strips of vegetal ornamentation reaching to the cupola. Thees strips divide the pumpkin-dome into eight sections with gilded relief stars on a painted blue background.

Rakovník, Czech Republic. Former Synagogue,  Photo: Samuel Gruber 2018.

Above the four sanctuary arches that cut into the vault segments and don't surmount windows, are set elaborate cartouches within which are painted small biblical vignettes, all of which seem to depict primary elements given divine attributes. Noah's Ark afloat on the sea represents water animated with divine purpose. Earth is depicted as a mound or mountain, presumably Sinai, but given the presence of the Ark, it could be Ararat. A scene of fire may represent the burning bush, or it could be the Pillar of Fire that denotes God's presence at the Mishkhan. The fourth scene seems to show the Pillar of Smoke, between tow descending clouds that almost take on the shape of heavenly hands. 

To me it seems an unusual grouping of images. At present i know nothing of who or why these were painted, but I'll look into this iconography some more. perhaps someone at the Jewish Museum in Prague has already considered these, and maybe their are parallels in contemporary textiles and manuscript illustration.

Rakovník, Czech Republic. Former Synagogue,  Painted cartouche of noah's Ark. Photo: Samuel Gruber 2018.

Rakovník, Czech Republic. Former Synagogue,  Painted cartouche, probably of Mount Sinai. Photo: Samuel Gruber 2018.

Rakovník, Czech Republic. Former Synagogue,  Painted cartouche of Burning bush or Pillar of Fire. Photo: Samuel Gruber 2018.

Rakovník, Czech Republic. Former Synagogue,  Painted cartouche of pillar of smoke. Photo: Samuel Gruber 2018

The synagogue also retains fine stained glass windows from two periods. flanking the Ark are two large windows mostly of geometric shapes, dedicated in 1912.  The pattern, howeve,r is made of lare six-pointed stars, a strong and clear sign of the popularity of the Jewish star in Czech Lands where the symbols has a long history of Jewish communal identity especially in Prague, but throughout  Bohemia.The window to the left of the Ark is topped with an image of a harp and at the bottom is the Hebrew date 5672.  The window to the right is topped with a Jewish Star, and below is the date 1912. 

The other windows in the sanctuary were clearly added later, presumably after the fire of 1924. These are simpler compositions mostly of frosted glass, with colored glass panels only around the border.  The design is more modern, but it was also probably less expensive to create.  The two unadorned central vertical strips are designed to look like round-topped tablets of the law.

Rakovník, Czech Republic. Former Synagogue,  Stained glass window on Ark wall, 1912. Photo: Samuel Gruber 2018

Rakovník, Czech Republic. Former Synagogue,  Stained glass window on Ark wall, 1912. Photo: Samuel Gruber 2018

Rakovník, Czech Republic. Former Synagogue,  Stained glass window on Ark wall, 1912. Photo: Samuel Gruber 2018.

Rakovník, Czech Republic. Former Synagogue,  Stained glass window in sanctuary, ca. 1927. Photo: Samuel Gruber 2018