Cáslav Synagogue in the central Czech Republic was constructed in 1899 to serve the town’s Jewish population. The building was designed by Wilhelm Stiassny, an architect from Vienna. Stiassny conceived the synagogue based on a simple, rectangular floor plan with an accentuated west transept. (...)
Cáslav Synagogue in the central Czech Republic was constructed in 1899 to serve the town’s Jewish population. The building was designed by Wilhelm Stiassny, an architect from Vienna. Stiassny conceived the synagogue based on a simple, rectangular floor plan with an accentuated west transept. Although modifications were made to the structure at a later date, the existing building is a spectacular example of Moorish Revival architecture. The synagogue functioned as a warehouse during and after World War II, and was subsequently used as the town gallery in the 1960s.
In 1994, ownership of the site transferred from the municipality of Cáslav to the Jewish community of Prague as part of a restitution claim, and efforts to conserve it were initiated. Several pieces of the original fabric had remained intact over the decades, despite the building’s misuse: the ceiling of the main nave with its decoration, the supporting beams and stuccoed capitals, and the stucco work on the outer façade. All elements were in dire need of repair and preservation.
