Great Synagogue (Grodno) Explained

Great Synagogue of Grodno
Native Name:Belarusian: Харальная сінагога, Горадня
Image Upright:1.4
Religious Affiliation:Orthodox Judaism
Rite:Hasidic Judaism
Festivals:-->
Organisational Status:Synagogue
Organizational Status:-->
Functional Status:Active
Location:Vialikaja Trajeckaja Street 59a, Grodno 230023
Country:Belarus
Map Type:Belarus
Map Size:250
Map Relief:1
Coordinates:53.6786°N 23.8246°W
Architect:Iya Frunkin
Architecture Type:Synagogue architecture
Established:1576
Year Completed:1905
Date Destroyed:-->
Elevation Ft:-->

The Great Synagogue of Grodno (Belarusian: Харальная сінагога, Горадня, Russian: Большая Хоральная синагога, Гродно), also known as the New Synagogue or the Choral Synagogue, is an Orthodox Hasidic Jewish synagogue, located on Vialikaja Trajeckaja Street, in Grodno (or Hrodna), Belarus. The building dates from the 16th century and was nominated for UNESCO World Heritage listing in 2007.[1] [2] [3]

History

The Great Synagogue of Grodno was built from 1576 to 1580 by Santi Gucci, who designed a wooden synagogue at Rabbi Mordechai Yoffe's invitation. However, this building burnt down in 1617.[4]

The second synagogue was also burnt down in 1899. The Jewish community built another synagogue in the eclectic and Moorish style from 1902 to 1905. By 1907, the city boasted a state Jewish school, a girls' school, a craft shelter, a Talmud-Yeshiva, 107 Jewish primary schools, and 5 elementary schools for girls. There were also two Jewish libraries and several Jewish charitable organizations working in the city.[5]

Jews played a very significant role in city life as industrialists, merchants, craftsmen, owners of printing houses, doctors, and teachers. There was said to be a special "Grodno Aura," created by its cultured and intelligent population. For this reason Grodno was considered to be one of the Jewish intellectual capitals of Europe.

The interior of the synagogue was vandalized in 1941 by Nazis. Soviet authorities closed the synagogue in 1944. The synagogue was returned to the Jewish community in 1991; and was subsequently restored[6] under the direction of Rabbi Yitzchok Kofman. However, in 2013, the synagogue was again destroyed by fire.[7] [8] The synagogue has since been restored and is in use.

Notable members

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Иудейская религиозная община г. Гродно ]. be.
  2. Web site: Great Synagogue of Grodno . Vetliva . April 16, 2024.
  3. Web site: The Great Synagogue of Grodno (also known as the "New" or "Choral" Synagogue) . Wirtualny Sztetl . April 16, 2024.
  4. Web site: The Great Synagogue of Grodno (also known as the "New" or "Choral" Synagogue . Virtual Shtetl . POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews . Warsaw, Poland . n.d. . 23 March 2024 .
  5. Web site: Sobolewska . Olga . Virtual Shtetl - History of Grodno . 21 June 2024 . Virtual Shtetl.
  6. Web site: Great Choral Synagogue Grodno . The Sane Travel . 2023 . 23 March 2024.
  7. News: Margolin, Dovid . Grodno's Great Synagogue Again to Rebuild From the Ashes . Chabad News . 15 January 2014 . 23 March 2024 .
  8. News: Fire ravages Belarus' oldest functioning synagogue . . 29 November 2013 . 23 March 2024 . .
  9. Web site: Léon Bakst Contemporary Arts Center . 2024-06-21 . www.contemporaryartscenter.org . en-US.
  10. Web site: Russian Art Gallery: Free Valuation and Attribution . 2024-06-21 . russianartgallery.org.
  11. Web site: YIVO Zamenhof, Ludwik . 2024-06-21 . yivoencyclopedia.org.
  12. Web site: Mount Hebron Cemetery . 2024-06-21 . www.mounthebroncemetery.com.
  13. Web site: YIVO Friedberg, Avraham Shalom . 2024-06-21 . yivoencyclopedia.org.