Great Synagogue (Sharhorod) Explained

Great Synagogue
Image Upright:1.4
Religious Affiliation:Judaism
Festivals:-->
Organizational Status:-->
Location:Sharhorod, Vinnytsia Oblast 23500
Country:Ukraine
Map Type:Ukraine
Map Size:250
Map Relief:1
Coordinates:48.7319°N 28.0828°W
Architecture Style:Fortress synagogue
Year Completed:1589
Date Destroyed:-->
Elevation Ft:-->
Footnotes:[1]

The Great Synagogue is a Jewish synagogue, located in Sharhorod, in the Vinnytsia Oblast of Ukraine. Built in 1589 in what was then the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, it is one of the oldest synagogues in Ukraine.

Architecture

The synagogue was built in 1589 as a fortress synagogue with walls between 1and thick.[2] [3] The 15m2 main hall was the prayer hall the men. To the north is an extension which was the prayer hall for women. There are further extensions along the walls, of which the ones to the south and east are fairly modern .[4] Inside the main hall are four pillars, which are decorated with ornamental stucco fragments of the 18th and 19th centuries.[5]

History

Sharhorod was occupied by the Turks between 1674 and 1699.[6] During this time the synagogue was used as a mosque. After the Turks were driven out of the region, it was converted into a synagogue again.

From around 1930, when Ukraine (and Sharhorod) belonged to the Soviet Union, the building was used as a storehouse for beverages.

In 2012 it was returned to the small Jewish community of Sharhorod.[2]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Sokolova, A. . Dymshits, V. . 2001 . STONE SYNAGOGUES OF THE SIXTEENTH TO THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURIES IN THE UKRAINE AND BYELORUSSIA . European Judaism: A Journal for the New Europe . 34 . 2 . 55–62 . JStor . 9 April 2024 .
  2. Web site: Shargorod . My Shtetl . Jewish Religious community of Zhmerinka . 2015 . November 28, 2018 .
  3. News: Jordan, Michael J. . Jewish pearls remain in south Ukraine . . 17 September 2007 . 9 April 2024 .
  4. Web site: Description . Center for Jewish Art . . Jerusalem, Israel . n.d. . November 28, 2018 . 29 November 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20181129012711/http://cja.huji.ac.il/browser.php?mode=set&id=30703 . dead .
  5. Web site: Synagogue (Sharhorod) . igototworld.com . n.d. . November 28, 2018 .
  6. Web site: Burns, Charles . Turks in Sharhorod . International Jewish Cemetery Project . . April 2016 . 9 April 2024 .