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Jewish culture
as it once was
This second section, focusing on Jewish culture as it once was, stands
in vivid contrast to what we have just seen in the first section. This
is because from the relics that still exist in the villages and towns
of Galicia today it is also possible to see many indications of the
strength and splendour of Jewish culture.
Substantial, even monumental synagogues – in village settings as well
as in the more major cities – are evidence that Jewish communities were
indeed strongly rooted and well settled after more than eight
centuries in their Polish environment. The art and architecture of the
Galician synagogue came to be highly influenced by mystical ideas,
which encouraged a richness of decorative features both inside and
out. The synagogue art that flourished here is almost nowhere to be
found in the United States, Israel, Britain and other countries where
Jews of Polish origin now live, which is another reason why the
surviving traces of the Jewish heritage still to be found here in
Poland are particularly precious.
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