Jewish Heritage Report
Vol. I, Nos. 3-4 / Winter 1997-98
Getty Funds Cracow Restoration

Getty Awards World Monuments Fund $150,000 Challenge Grant for Tempel Synagogue Conservation

The World Monuments Fund has received an unprecedented grant award from the Getty Grant Program. The $150,000 grant is for the conservation of the interior of Cracow's 19th-century Tempel Synagogue, a project of WMF's Jewish Heritage Program. This marks the largest grant ever by the Getty for a Jewish site. The Getty Grant Program is one of the most active private donors for historic preservation worldwide. The award must be matched on a two to one basis. WMF has previously received grants from the European Union and private donors for this stage of the project. Approximately $200,000 must still be raised. The project, begun in 1992 with a Getty Project Identification Grant of $20,000, has already seen completion of all structural, exterior and mechanical work on the building, including foundation work, a new roof cover, new heating and electrical systems, and complete exterior facade restoration. Scientific paint studies carried out over the past 18 months have revealed several phases of interior decoration, marking the major phases of expansion and renovation of the building which first opened in 1862 and was enlarged in the 1890s and 1920s.

WMF conservators have proposed the least destructive intervention methods. One recommendation is to clean the interior surfaces to reveal the building's appearance during the inter-war years, the time when the building reached its maximum size and the congregation achieved its greatest fame under the leadership of Rabbi Osias Thon.

For more information contact The Jewish Heritage Program, World Monuments Fund, 949 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10028; tel. (212) 744-5532 / fax (212) 744-5497.

WEBWATCH: information on all the World Monuments Fund programs can be found at www.worldmonuments.org

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Updated: 7-Jul-98