According to reports in the local media, the Jakub Glanzer synagogue in L’viv is being threatened by new construction next to it, reportedly for a shopping center. The synagogue, known for its tall arched windows, was built in 1841-44 and remodeled in 1912. It was used after 1991 as a Jewish cultural center, but has been empty for some time and is now in poor condition.
JHE does not have all the details yet, but the local reports state that there are plans to build a shopping center right next to the synagogue. On July 23th construction work got under way without prior announcement. High-tension electric cables were being laid, and as the result of the drilling under the foundations of the building cracks appeared in the wall…. A part of the synagogue was fenced off. On July 26th the Jewish community sent a letter to the mayor and the chief architect of L’viv with questions regarding the reason and legal background of this construction work. By July 31 there had been no reply.
An article about the situation with photographs of some of the digging and damage to the synagogue wall were removed from at least one news web site, but it is not clear why.
At the same time, previously unknown wall paintings were discovered in the synagogue earlier this summer. They include at least three large pictures situated on the southern wall, under the women’s galleries, depicting (according to partly readable inscriptions) Babylonian rivers, Jerusalem Temple and Western Wall. Some remnants of color can be seen also in the piers between the windows, around the place of the Torah ark and on the ceiling.

Jewish Heritage