Old Synagogue (Przemyśl)

The Old Synagogue was a former Orthodox Jewish congregation and synagogue, located in Przemyśl, in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship of southeastern Poland. Designed by Bononi and completed in 1594, the fortress synagogue served as a house of prayer until World War II when it was desecrated by arson by Nazis in 1939 as they were retreating from the eastern bank of the San River; it fell into ruin in 1941 and the debris was cleared after the war. The stone building was rectangular in shape, typical of the Renaissance style of the time. The rectangular main hall remained the only section of the original building after a range of outhouses were added in later years. They included a yeshiva, two additional halls of prayer and offices.