The Bet Tahara house, now also known as the Mendelsohn House, is a former burial preparation house of Olsztyn’s Jewish community. It was built in 1913 according to a design by the architect Erich Mendelsohn.
The structure is both the first work by Mendelsohn (probably created as a diploma project) and the only surviving remnant of Olsztyn’s Jewish community.
The building lies near the Jewish cemetery (destroyed in late 1960s) at what is now Zyndrama z Maszkowic street. It used to house the State Archives in Olsztyn until 1996, and is now owned by the Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage, which has let it to the “Borussia” Foundation as a cultural centre (the Centre for Intercultural Dialogue) and as a museum of its architect. The House was officially opened on 21 March 2013, exactly on the 126th anniversary of Mendelsohn’s birth.
fot. Jarosław Kowalski
10-133 Olsztyn
