29 October 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Remains of 14th-century Synagogue thought to be one of largest in region discovered in Poland

The remains of what is thought to be a sizeable 14th-century synagogue complex, including a mikvah, have been discovered during research linked to the renovation of the building that houses the Historical Institute of Wrocław University.

The city of Wrocław referred to the discovery in the building’s basement as “sensational” in an article on its website. According to researchers, it might be one of the largest known medieval synagogue complexes in Europe.

The renovation of the building at ul. Szewska 49 in Wrocław, the seat of the Historical Institute of the University of Wrocław and previously, among other things, the palace of the Piasts of Legnica and Brest for about 300 years (15th-17th century), began in 2021.

In an article on its website, the University said that during the renovation work, which began in 2021,  “large expanses of 14th-century walls began to emerge from under the plasterwork.”

After the walls were revealed, archaeologists began working on the site and determined that the unearthed structures resembled the typical layout of medieval European synagogues.



📣 Our WhatsApp channel is now LIVE! Stay up-to-date with the latest news and updates, just click here to follow us on WhatsApp and never miss a thing!!



Excavations showing an L-shaped wall, part of what is believed to be a medieval synagogue complex in Wroclaw. Photo: Bente Kahan
Excavations showing an L-shaped wall, part of what is believed to be a medieval synagogue complex in Wroclaw. Photo: Bente Kahan

It quoted Prof. Małgorzata Chorowska, from the Wrocław University of Science and Technology, as saying that  “it was precisely the fact that instead of the expected bourgeois tenement houses we had a synagogue, and above all its size, that was quite a surprise.”

Prior to the Historical Institute, 49 Szewska Street had housed a palace of the Legnica-Brzeg branch of the Piast dynasty for 300 years from the 15th to 17th century.

On the basis of earlier historical and architectural research conducted under Chorowska, there is a “high probability that the remains of a 14th-century synagogue integrated into the walls of the later city palace have just been discovered,” the University of Wrocław published in a statement.

The statement also noted that despite many years of archaeological research of buildings demolished to their foundations, “until the ongoing renovation of the building at 49 Szewska Street, it was not possible to determine the location or find any material remains of the oldest synagogues in Wrocław.”

“The building at 49 Szewska Street is a valuable and very interesting monument, and if the presumption of a synagogue is correct, then we are potentially dealing with the best-preserved relics of one of the oldest, if not the oldest, brick building of its kind in Poland,” Mateusz Goliński of the Historical Institute’s department of Polish and general history was quoted as saying.

Part of the medieval excavations in Wroclaw showing a bricked-up arch. Photo: Bente Kahan

Europe we can suggest that we are dealing with the remains of a synagogue of the first Jewish community in Wrocław,” wrote researchers Prof. Małgorzata Chorowska, Prof. Mateusz Goliński, and architect Mariusz Caban in an article published in the Journal of Heritage Conservation.

Wrocław’s Jewish history dates back to the 12th century, when the city was a major trade center along the Amber Road. The city once boasted one of the largest Jewish communities in East Central Europe. The largest synagogue in the city, then known as Breslau and a part of Nazi Germany, was destroyed by fire during the Kristallnacht pogrom in 1938.

Research of the site, which began in 2021, is still ongoing to determine whether the Wrocław synagogue complex is one of the largest in Europe from the first half of the 14th century.

University of Wrocław

Related Articles

2,000-Year-Old Hellenistic Tomb Discovered Under Collapsed Port Road in Northern Cyprus

24 June 2025

24 June 2025

A routine alert about a collapsed road at Gazimağusa Port in Northern Cyprus has led to a remarkable archaeological breakthrough....

Return of a 4,250-year-old Hattian golden beak-spouted ewer to Turkey

27 October 2021

27 October 2021

The 4,250-year-old golden beak-spouted ewer was returned to the Anatolian Civilizations Museum by the Gilbert Art Foundation. Culture and Tourism...

Sumatran fishing crews may have found the legendary Gold Island in the Mud of the Indonesian River

24 October 2021

24 October 2021

The site of the Srivijaya kingdom, known in ancient times as the Island of Gold, may have been found by...

800-year-old Jin dynasty palace complex found in Beijing Olympic Village

9 February 2022

9 February 2022

While building the athletes’ Olympic Village for this year’s Winter Games in Beijing, China found the remains of an ancient...

An Erotic Frescoes Decorated ‘Tiny House’ Has Been Discovered in Pompeii

26 October 2024

26 October 2024

During investigations at the construction site of the Insula dei Casti Amanti along Via dell’Abbondanza in the central area of...

Norse Runic Text found in Oslo could be Prayer!

30 December 2021

30 December 2021

Archaeologists from the Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Studies (NIKU) have unearthed two objects inscribed in Norse runic text in...

Ancient Mesopotamian Cylinder Seals Offer Clues to the Origin of Writing

6 November 2024

6 November 2024

Researchers from the University of Bologna have discovered an association between proto-cuneiform and even older stone images engraved on ancient...

Surprising Discovery: In Guatemala, archaeologists uncover hidden neighborhood in the ancient Maya city

28 September 2021

28 September 2021

A recent lidar analysis revealed, the region surrounding Central Tikal’s Lost World Complex, which was long thought to be a...

Frozen but Not Forgotten: 2,500-Year-Old Tattoos of Siberian Ice Mummy Digitally Reconstructed

31 July 2025

31 July 2025

Siberian Ice Mummy: Unveiling Ancient Tattoo Traditions of Iron Age Siberia In a groundbreaking fusion of archaeology and modern imaging,...

Intricate Design Revealed on 1100-Year-Old Gold-Inlaid Ritual Spear from Japan’s Island of the Gods

13 June 2025

13 June 2025

A recent archaeological breakthrough on Japan’s sacred Okinoshima Island has unveiled an ornately decorated iron spear from the late Kofun...

AI Unlocks Ancient Secrets: Dead Sea Scrolls May Be Centuries Older Than Previously Thought

8 June 2025

8 June 2025

New research blends cutting-edge artificial intelligence with advanced radiocarbon dating and offers a transformative perspective on the origins of the...

Submerged Land Bridge Beneath the Aegean May Have Carried Early Humans From Türkiye to Europe

21 September 2025

21 September 2025

A groundbreaking archaeological study has revealed that early humans may have crossed from modern-day Türkiye into mainland Europe via a...

A Polish-Croatian team discovered Ancient Roman Temple under a Croatian 18th Century church

24 November 2022

24 November 2022

Under an 18th-century church, the Church of St. Daniel in Danilo near Sibenik, Croatia, the foundations of an ancient Roman...

70,000-Year-Old Paleolithic Neanderthal Workshop Found

17 August 2025

17 August 2025

Archaeologists in Poland have uncovered a remarkable 70,000-year-old Neanderthal workshop in the Zwoleńka River Valley, offering unprecedented insight into the...

Three Roman Graves Uncovered in Portugal

17 April 2024

17 April 2024

Three burials dating to the 5th or 6th century AD have been unearthed in the ancient Roman city of Ossónoba...