"Tykocin - where time froze with terror" Tykocin by evaanna

Tykocin Travel Guide: 17 reviews and 67 photos

Jewish family in an old photograph - Tykocin

Tykocin, in Yiddish Tiktin, is an unusual place. If you visit it once, you simply must return. Its cobbled streets lined with old tenement houses or charming timber cottages look as if time had stopped there a long time ago. Perhaps it stopped on the day that the town witnessed one of the worst atrocities of WWII, when half of its population - over 2000 Jews were murdered in the wood nearby by the Nazis. The three mass graves in the Lopuchowo forest, just 7 kilometres away are a poignant reminder of the tragedy.

Inside the Synagogue

But not only those. In Tykocin everything speaks of its past. Once a thriving market town with a castle visited by kings, a town where the Jewish and Polish communities lived side by side, respecting each other's culture and traditions, it had been one of the main centres of Jewish religious life for over four hundred years before the war. The Great Synagogue is still there, occupying one of the two important town squares. The other one, the market place, is flanked in the east by the magnificent Catholic Church of Holy Trinity. In the middle of the square stands the monument to Stefan Czarniecki, the Polish hetman famous for his defence of Polish towns during the Swedish 'deluge'.

Model of pre-war Tykocin

The market square looks as it must have looked before the war: the low timber or brick cottages with high sloping roofs, verandahs and wooden fences are typical of little towns in pre-war Poland. In the other square, just opposite the Synagogue there are a few nice old Jewish tenement houses and in the side streets some timber houses of poorer Jews. Only the Jews themselves are no longer there...

I wish to thank my VT friend, Gila (gilabrand) for her kind help with the description of the synagogue and translation of some of the inscriptions on the walls. If you want to know more about the Jewish traditions mentioned in my tips, read the customs tips on her Jerusalem page.

Last visit to Tykocin: Dec 2007
Intro Updated Mar 6, 2009
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Reviews (17)

Cover your head Local Customs (1)

Most of you probably know this but as I saw a few men in the Synagogue with their heads bare, it might be worth... more travel advice

Jewish cuisine and not only Restaurants (1)

This restaurant is situated at the back of the Beit Midrasz by the Great Synagogue. It specialises in Jewish (kosher)... more travel advice

Israeli youth in the Great Synagogue - Tykocin

Alive in our hearts Favorites (1)

The terrible events of 5-6 August 1941 left a deep scar on the town and its inhabitants. We cannot bring the Tykocin... more travel advice

Alumnat or a hospice for the military Things to Do (14)

Founded by Krzysztof Wiesiolowski, the Great Marshal of Lithuania and subprefect of Tykocin, this building was erected... more travel advice

Travelogues (1)

Written Mar 13, 2008

8 photos

Hanukkah at the Tykocin Synagogue

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Comments (21)

roamer61 Mar 20, 2012 at 8:23 AM Report Abuse

Somber and poignant. Good page with info on town. I may visit when I go to Poland next year.
ZiOOlek Nov 1, 2011 at 4:04 AM Report Abuse

Impressive page and information on this town. I plan to visit soon.
ronaldpk Nov 26, 2010 at 2:23 PM Report Abuse

Excellent page on this undiscovered gem of north-eastern Poland. By the way, have you got a good recipe for latkes?
hopang Mar 16, 2010 at 12:56 PM Report Abuse

Excellent Tykocin travel page - really enjoyed reading your travel pages. The Great Synagogue and Holy Trinity Church certainly sound wonderful to visit and explore. Thanks for sharing. ~ho & pang
Yaqui Nov 2, 2009 at 8:52 PM Report Abuse

Excellent page, very sombering and it serves as a reminder to us all that faith, love, and hope will survive. Thanks for sharing!
LoriPori Oct 20, 2009 at 3:46 AM Report Abuse

A splendid and very moving acount about Tykocin and the tragedy which occurred in the Lopuchowo Forsest. The Great Synagogue is indeed very beautiful esp the Aron Ha Kodesh.
volopolo Aug 24, 2009 at 1:22 AM Report Abuse

Great website with a lot of information. I love the picture from Inside the Great Synagogue - the Aron ha Kodesh.
JLBG Aug 3, 2008 at 7:37 PM Report Abuse

A very moving page and a reminder of mass slaughters that should never occur again, and, nevertheless, occured fifty years later in now-ex-Yougoslavia!
olja1234 Jun 20, 2008 at 12:54 PM Report Abuse

Excellent page, Ewa. Those deed of horror shouldn't be forgotten.
Basaic Mar 21, 2008 at 5:12 PM Report Abuse

Very informative and interesting page!