CZARNIKAU:
Town in the district of Bromberg, province of Posen, Germany. The Jewish community of this town probably dates back to the beginning of the seventeenth century, at which time, according to tradition, the Polish prince Sapieha had various relations with the Jews living there. The community was most numerous in the years 1855-64, when it numbered 1,200 persons, while it numbered only 470 in 1815, and 600 in 1900. In place of the old synagogue, built in 1759, a beautiful and massive building was erected in 1878. In 1819 the new cemetery was laid out on the Posener Chaussée, the old one being transferred to the city to be laid out as forest. In 1842 the community built its own schoolhouse, which was enlarged in 1878. The elementary school, with three grades, is a public school; and its two teachers are appointed by the government. The community supports, in addition, a Hebrew religious school, with three grades, under the direction of the rabbi.
The following rabbis have officiated in the community: Isaac Fränkel, Elia. Spiro (1830-55; distinguished for his Talmudic scholarship and piety: born at Inowrazlaw, and educated at the yeshibah of Lissa), Dr. Popper (1855-90), Dr. Freund (1893-1899). The present (1903) incumbent is Dr. Weyl. The Jewish societies of Czarnikau include: a ḥebra ḳaddisha, an Israelitischer Frauenverein, a Verein zur Unterstützung Durchreisender Armen, and a Litteraturverein. For more than fifty consecutive years Jews have had a seat in the municipal council.
