Great Choral Synagogue (Kyiv)

Great Choral Synagogue
Great Choral Synagogue
Ukrainian: Велика хоральна синагога Києва
	Great Choral Synagogue, in 2008
Religion
Affiliation	Orthodox Judaism
Ecclesiastical or organisational status	Synagogue (1895–1920); Stables (1930s–1940s); Synagogue (since 1945);
Leadership	Rabbi Yaakov Bleich
Status	Active
Location
Location	Schekovytska 29, Podil, Kyiv
Country	Ukraine
	Location of the synagogue in Ukraine
Geographic coordinates	50°28′13″N 30°30′43″E / 50.47028°N 30.51194°E
Architecture
Architect(s)	Nikolay Gardenin (1895)[citation needed]; Valerian Rykov (1915);
Type	Synagogue architecture
Style	Moorish Revival
Funded by	Gabriel Yakob Rozenberg (1895); Vladimir Ginzburg (1915);
Completed	1895
Specifications
Dome(s)	One
Minaret(s)	Four

The Great Choral Synagogue of Kyiv (Ukrainian: Велика хоральна синагога Києва), also known as the Podil Synagogue or the Rozenberg Synagogue, is an Orthodox Jewish synagogue, located in the Podil, a historic neighborhood of Kyiv, Ukraine. Built in 1895, it is the oldest synagogue in Kyiv and is under the leadership of Rabbi Yaakov Bleich Chief Rabbi of Ukraine.

History

The Aesopian synagogue, built in 1895,^[2] was designed in the Moorish Revival style by Nikolay Gordenin. Gabriel Yakob Rozenberg, a merchant, financed the building.^[2] In 1915 the building was reconstructed by Valerian Rykov. The reconstruction was financed by Vladimir Ginzburg, a nephew of Rozenberg.

In 1929, the synagogue was closed. During the German occupation of Kyiv in World War II, the Nazis converted the building into a horse stable.^[3]

Since 1945, the building has again been used as a synagogue. In 1990, restoration works were launched at the initiative of the new Chief Rabbi of Kyiv and Ukraine, Yaakov Dov Bleich. A yeshiva and schools for boys and girls were established in the same building. In 1992, the synagogue officially became the property of the Jewish community.^[4]

During Rosh Hashanah 2014, a firebomb was thrown at the synagogue, without causing any significant damage.^[5]

Gallery

The Holy Ark of the synagogue
A stained glass window
Interior
Outside

References

^ "Synagogue in Podil Removes Scaffolding". Jewish Federation of Ukraine.^{[failed verification]}
^ ^a ^b "302 File moved". Jewish Federation of Ukraine. Archived from the original on 25 October 2021. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
^ MacIsaac, Daniel (10 March 2003). "Kyiv Synagogue Reopens". National Conference on Soviet Jewry. Archived from the original on 12 April 2003. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
^ "Great Choral Synagogue in Podil, Kyiv (29 Schekovytska Street)". Virtual Shtetl. Poland: POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews. 2017. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
^ "Firebomb thrown at Kiev's oldest synagogue". Times of Israel. Jewish Telegraph Agency. 29 September 2014. Retrieved 6 April 2024.