Daniel Neufeld’s School and the Oldest Shtibl

Daniel Neufeld (1814–1874), a graduate of the Piarist School in Wieluń, initially worked as a private tutor in Częstochowa. In 1851, he established a model Jewish school at Garncarska 23 (adjacent to Graniczna Street), which became one of the best in the province, with a boarding facility that attracted students from other towns. At its peak, the school had over a hundred students, a quarter of whom came from outside Częstochowa. It operated until May 1860, and in 10 years it educated a generation that later occupied an important place in the Jewish life of Częstochowa, as well as in Łódź, Włocławek and Płock. In the building on Garncarska Street (entrance from the courtyard) the oldest shtibl (Hasidic prayer room) functioned from the 1820s.