The jewish life in Slovakia

1. Synagogues of Slovakia

2. Slovakia. A wonderful mountainous country,
paradise for hikers and nature lovers.

3. Vysoke Tatry
The Vysoke Tatry (“High Tatras”) is
one of the challenging areas for
hiking.
Like many others, I arrived there via
the gateway city of Poprad, which is
located at the foot of the mountains.

4. Poprad is mainly accessible by train.
Its railway station is quite small in
European scale, but something in the
sight of the platforms and the
coaches created an unexplained
uncomfortable feeling.

5. A short stroll and a glimpse
to the wall suddenly shed a
new light on this place.

6. Following the meeting with
this Jewish side, I decided to
alter my trip itinerary and
explore a bit of the remains
left by the Jewish community
of Slovakia.

7. The city of Koshice, about a hundred
kilometers east of Poprad. Decorated
houses aside concrete blocks from
communist times, and a majestic
structure in between…

8. The Pushkinova
street Synagogue

9. The cubist style synagogue was
designed by a Christian architect and
was built during the twentieth century
twenties.

11. Decorations on the
entrance doors

12. And on the
vitrages

13. A memorial plate on the front is
dedicated to the Jews of Koshice
who were deported to the
concentration camps.
Today, a small Jewish community
still lives in Koshice (together with
several Israeli students who attend
veterinary school there…).

14. I continue to the town with the
impossible name Spishske Podhradie,
which is dominated by the impressive
Spissky Hrad (Castle):

15. Downtown, at the foot of the castle,
stands the only sustained
synagogue left in the Spish region.

16. 191906.The synagogue was built in the
late 19th
century, and rebuilt in
1906 after a fire.
It stood neglected for many years
(in the photo), until renovated in
the mid nineties.

17. The synagogue serves as a small museum, but it
turned out to be locked due to lack of visitors.
I had to call a representative from the town hall for
help… with no English speaker on sight, I had to find
the words that will “open the doors” for me:
“Synagoga Cluche”…

18. We now turn to Banska Bistrica, a
town which served as a center for the
partisans who fought the Nazis.
The house seen in the picture was
probably used by Jews at that time.

19. Nizke Tatry.A vivid evidence to the activity of
the partisans lies deep in the
forests of the “Nizke Tatry”
mountain range.
A steep trail through the forest
leads to a shelter used by the
partisans.

20. The sights immediately bring to life
the descriptions told by holocaust
survivors who took part in the
struggle during the war.

21. Nizke Tatry
The town of Liptovsky
Mikulash is situated
north of the Nizke
Tatry range.
Just behind the main
town square you can
find this impressive
structure.

22. But take a look at the
back of the building…

23. And from the inside…

25. 19
The synagogue was
built in the mid 19th
century, and was
partially renovated
about ten years ago.

26. Decorations on the walls

27. Ceiling view

28. We head back to Koshice
to visit yet another
synagogue which is located
in the Jewish community
complex.
This is the facade of the
beautiful synagogue, which
stands neglected waiting
for renovation and visitors.

29. The colorful murals inside
the synagogue hall have
barely survived, and so is
the ark.

30. A memorial plate is located
near the synagogue
entrance, and can be seen
in the next slide, which
concludes this presentation.

32. http://www.guyshachar.com
2003
2004
Travel and photography: July 2003
Presentation compilation: August 2004
Guy Shachar
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