Synagoga / Synagogue - Hradec Králove (East Bohemia) - Art Deco - Art Nouveau on Waymarking.com

The Art Nouveau Synagogue, a former Jewish prayer house in Hradec Králové, was built on the corner of today's Pospíšilova street and Cs. armady street in 1904–1905. It is one of the largest and most interesting architecturally designed buildings of its kind in Central Europe.

The synagogue is a two-winged corner building with an underground floor, ground floor and three floors, with the corner forming an obtuse angle. Both wings have a rectangular floor plan. The exterior of the synagogue is decorated in the period Art Nouveau style with inspiration in the Moorish style. On the ground floor there is a brass memorial plaque with the Star of David and the cast inscription "Here the people of the Jewish community served their god / Zde sloužil svému bohu lid židovské obce".

The new synagogue was built as a replacement of the older prayer house in N° 67 by architect Václav Weinzettl and builder Karel Štastný in 1904–1905. The organ was manufactured and supplied by Jan Tucek's organ production company from Kutná Hora. The carpentry work in the winter prayer room was carried out by the carpenter Josef Hlavatý and the interior of the synagogue was painted by the painter Rudolf Tomášek from Horice. The synagogue was solemnly consecrated on September 24, 1905. In addition to the prayer hall itself, which is conceived in a neological rite, the building housed the apartment of a rabbi, secretary, a caretaker, and a meeting room with an archive.

After World War II, it was briefly used as a prayer space for a restored Jewish religious community. It was abolished for the loss of believers. As considerably dilapidated, it was bought by the State Scientific Library in 1960, which reconstructed it and rebuilt the interior and used it for its needs. Much more extensive reconstructions of the building did not begin until 1968. It was time for interior modifications and lighting wiring. In 1970, the interior of the synagogue was transformed into a book store, which was approved on January 15, 1971. The building, reconstructed during last decade of the 20th century, was eventually returned to the Jewish community in Prague in 2007, which intends to use it multifunctionally.

Source: excerpted and translated from Wikipedia and National Heritage Institute portal.