Jewish settlement was established in Divišov before 1685. The synagogue, in which the museum is located, was built in the first half of the 19th century in the late classical style with an apse. The reconstruction of the building, which was completed in autumn 2004, was also financed by the European Union.
The exhibition mapping the life of the Jewish settlement in the region was built in cooperation with the CHOPOS association of municipalities, the Divišov municipality, the Jewish Museum in Prague and the Podblanicko Museum in Vlašim. The entrance part of the exhibition is devoted to the course of an extensive project of reconstruction of small religious buildings in the territory of the CHOPOS association of municipalities.
Synagogue
The synagogue was built at the beginning of the 19th century in the immediate vicinity of the older house of prayer, house no. 165). Between 1854 and 1856 it was rebuilt in the Classicist style, and it was enlarged. From the entrance hall, a wooden spiral staircase leads up to the women's gallery. Services were held here until the 1930s. During World War II the building was used as a warehouse, after which it was not used until 1957 when it was adapted as a hairdressing salon without affecting its external appearance.
In 1995 the synagogue building was transferred to the ownership of the Jewish Community of Prague, the exterior facade was restored by the city, and since 2002 a local civic association has been working to establish an information centre and exhibition hall here. In 2004, the building was renovated, including the interior, and today it serves as the Museum of the Life of the Jewish Community of Divišov. About 2 km from the synagogue, next to the logistics complex near Měchnov, there is a Jewish cemetery founded in the 1870s close to the D1 motorway.