Szydłów Synagogue was an Orthodox Judaism synagogue in Szydłów, Poland. It was built in 1534–1564 as a fortress synagogue with heavy buttresses on all sides.[1] The synagogue was devastated by Nazis during World War II. During the war it served as a weapons and food magazine. After the war, it briefly served as a village cinema to be eventually abandoned.
The building was renovated in the 1960s for use as a library and cultural center. The women's gallery served as a town library while the main floor was a cultural center. In 1995 the library was closed due to budget cuts and the building stood in need of repair, especially to the roof, which was leaking.[2] The renovation altered the building's exterior appearance, but the interior was preserved intact. The original, built-in, masonry Torah Ark is particularly notable.[3]
The first official inventory of important buildings in Poland, A General View of the Nature of Ancient Monuments in the Kingdom of Poland, led by Kazimierz Stronczynski from 1844–55, describes the Szydłów Synagogue as one of Poland's architecturally notable buildings.[4]