Great Synagogue of London

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The Great Synagogue of London 1809 (Portrait from Rudolph Ackermann's Microcosm of London )

The Great Synagogue of London (en. Great Synagogue of London ) was for centuries the center of Ashkenazi Jewish life in the British capital; During the Second World War it was destroyed in an attack by the German Air Force ( The Blitz ).

history

Ink drawing of the Great Synagogue, ca.1820

The first Ashkenazi synagogue in London was built on Duke's Place , north of Aldgate , in 1690 after the return of Jews to England in the same century . The community grew, so a new building was built in 1722, funded by businessman and philanthropist Moses Hart . An extended building designed by George Dance the Elder was inaugurated in 1766.

Finally, between 1788 and 1790, a third synagogue was built on the same site. This third building existed until it was destroyed by the Germans on May 10, 1941. It was unusual for the time that the main founder of the synagogue was a woman, Judith Hart Levy , a descendant of Moses Hart. The architect was James Spiller ; the building was constructed in the classic style that was characteristic of the Scottish architect John Adam . The building was renovated and repaired in 1832 and 1852, and again in 1899 and 1930 with minor alterations.

Adolphus Frederick, 1st Duke of Cambridge , Ernst August, Duke of Cumberland and Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex , all sons of George III. , visited the Great Synagogue in 1809, where they attended the service there.

rabbi

The rabbis of the synagogue with their terms of office within the community:

literature

  • Carole Herselle Krinsky: Synagogues of Europe; Architecture, History, Meaning , MIT Press, 1985; revised edition, MIT Press, 1986; Dover reprint, 1996 ISBN 0-486-29078-6
  • Cecil Roth : The Great Synagogue London 1690-1940 . London: E. Goldston; Edition: First edition. (1950) → (online version see web links)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Past Chief Rabbis. In: www.chiefrabbi.org. Office of the Chief Rabbi, archived from the original on July 17, 2013 ; accessed on May 15, 2016 .

Coordinates: 51 ° 30 ′ 50.8 "  N , 0 ° 4 ′ 40.4"  W.