Poland: Tykocin Synagogue
Most tourists coming to Tykosin – about 40K per year – come here to see the historic Tykocin Synagogue, one of the oldest in Poland. The synagogue was built in 1642. The massive partially fortified building has impressive thick walls and the interior with richly decorated altar, torah scriptures on the walls, and a lot of Judaica artifacts. During WWII, almost all the Jewish residents of Tykocin were killed (shot in the field outside of town), the synagogue looted and nearly destroyed, but many artifacts were hidden and preserved. in the 1970s, the synagogue was restored and the wall paintings were recreated in exact copy of the original. Busloads of tourists come here to see it.
