The synagogue was also called Szpitalna because of its proximity to the former Jewish hospital and Ubogich because the poorest members of the Jewish community prayed there.  The synagogue was extensively rebuilt in the 18th century, and between 1830 and 1834, a two-storey annexe was added, housing a vestibule, sanitary facilities and an upstairs granary.  In 1861, the west wing was erected. At the end of the 19th century, the synagogue was connected to the building on the east side and housed, among other things, the prayer room of the Ner Tamid Brotherhood.

Much restoration and finishing work was done between the wars. However, the interior was devastated and set on fire during the Second World War. From 1946 to 1947, it housed a matzah factory, and until 1985, a ritual poultry slaughterhouse was in one room of the synagogue. In 1951, it housed warehouses and a shoe manufacturing plant. After the Jewish Religious Community took over the synagogue in Kraków, renovation began in 1995.

Having been renovated in 2001, it hosts services as well as meetings, concerts, exhibitions, etc.

The building was built in the Baroque style, and the most interesting elements of the decoration are polychromes with biblical themes and zodiac signs related to the Jewish traditional division of the religious calendar into months.