Synagogue (Belgrade)

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Synagogue in downtown Belgrade

The Belgrade Synagogue is located in downtown Belgrade and is one of currently two synagogues in the Serbian capital. The second is in the Zemun district .

history

The history of the Jews in Belgrade can be traced back to the Turkish conquest of Belgrade in 1521 with evidence. Since the middle of the 16th century, the settlement increased by the Sephardi , who were expelled from Spain with the Alhambra Edict in 1492 . According to information from the years 1567 and 1573, several denominational parishes and three synagogues are mentioned. During the 17th century, the Jewish community settled near the banks of the Danube , in what the Turks called Jalije (Turkish: yali, bank). Only after the formation of an independent Serbian state did the life of the Jews gradually improve, until after the Berlin Congress they achieved full civil rights. The history of the settlement and life of Ashkenazi Jews on the territory of the city of Belgrade began as early as the 18th century, but it increased significantly in the mid-19th century and in the first half of the 20th century. On October 1, 1869, a separate Ashkenazi community was established in Belgrade. The "rules of the religious group of Ashkenazi Jews" (that was the name of the Ashkenazi community when it was founded) are also passed in twenty points, which provided for the foundation of a school and a house of worship. The city administration approved these rules, which laid the foundation stone for the new Ashkenazi community in Belgrade. Initially, a rented house on Kosmajska Street (now Maršala Birjuzova Street) was used for religious, administrative, cultural and similar purposes of the community. The realization of the idea of ​​building a new, more functional building and the fundraising campaign for the construction of the Ashkenazi synagogue began before the First World War . However, the construction of the synagogue did not begin until after the war with the laying of the foundation stone on June 15, 1924, and a parchment deed signed by King Aleksandar and Queen Marija was also walled in on this occasion . The delegates of the King and the Government of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes , the representatives of the Jewish communities, various bodies from the Kingdom, the Chairman of the National Assembly and the Chief Rabbi Dr. Alkalaj part. The plan to build the synagogue was approved in 1923 and the building itself was built between May 15, 1924 and November 27, 1929. From 1924 to 1926 the synagogue building was built according to the project of the architect Franjo Urban, with the participation of Milan Šlang. In 1929 work on changing the interior design was carried out according to the project of the architect Milutin Jovanović. The object served as a building for the Serbian-Jewish parish according to the Ashkenazi rite until 1941 . During the Nazi occupation of Belgrade from 1941 to 1944, its authentic function was downgraded when it was converted into a brothel and then resumed the function of a synagogue for both Belgrade Jewish Congregations after the war.

architecture

The building of the synagogue was designed in the spirit of academicism with predominant elements of the Neo-Renaissance . In terms of height, it consists of a basement, ground floor, gallery on the ground floor and first and second floor. The interior was designed for various purposes, as a space for a variety of activities of the Jewish community: religious, cultural, educational, office and living space. Such a multi-purpose concept of the object is based on the religious and social context of the synagogue. It is intended to combine three basic functions: a place of religious worship for the Jewish congregation, a place with educational and assembly purposes for the Jewish community. In the basement there is a kosher kitchen with dining room and auxiliary rooms. The central room on the ground floor with the gallery has primary symbolic and religious significance as a place for the religious rite . On the sides, separated from the religion room by walls, there are offices, a teaching room and a conference room. Living rooms are distributed on the first and second floors. The prayer room is divided by two rows of columns that support an accessible gallery. The front facade is designed harmoniously and symmetrically and the decorative accent is on the roof gable, where a Star of David - the six-pointed star - is located in the round window .

Star of David

The central part of the facade is taken up by four elongated and semicircular closing windows, which extend into the ground floor and gallery area. The area on the first floor is separated from the lower area by a low and simple dividing ring. The facade of this area is withdrawn in relation to the facade surface of the deeper areas, so that it forms a terrace surrounded by a baluster . A regularly rhythmic row of four semicircular closing openings is distributed in the level of the facade of this area. According to the original plan from 1923, decorative medallions are planned between these openings. The second floor was designed most simply with eight semicircular closing windows and is separated from the first floor by a decorative wreath. The listed architectural elements give the front facade the impression of a balanced horizontal, while the vertical is emphasized by low side risalits. These close off in the area of ​​the first floor in the form of turrets, which are facilitated on three sides by arched openings. These turrets clearly allude to the fortress shape and character of the original temple of Solomon. They also represent a common motif in synagogue architecture , the Jachin and Boas , the pillars of the Temple of Solomon . The final accent of the vertical is on the triangular gable above the second floor. The broad, three-lane access staircase on the lower and first floor, which is decorated with a simple baluster and two candelabra, also contributes to the overall impression of the synagogue's festive and ceremonial character. The style and interior design of the stairs are reminiscent of French classicism and the northern facade of the Petit Trianon in Versailles .

With regard to the architectural and aesthetic design of the facades, the representativeness of the front facade, which is designed harmoniously and uniformly, was left to the design. The decorative accent is on the gable, where the David shield - the six-pointed star - is located in the round window . The vertical is emphasized by elongated, curved window openings in the area of ​​the ritual space of the synagogue, as well as by side risalits with turrets that flank the central part of the facade. The prayer room, which is used for the ritual of faith, is at the same time the central and elementary part of the synagogue. The shrine (hehal) of the Sukkat Shalom synagogue has a longitudinal shape and is located on the level of the ground floor and the gallery. It is oriented towards east-west and is divided by two rows of eight-sided free columns with decorative capitals . These columns, which have an aesthetic, symbolic and constructive function at the same time, support the walk-in gallery. The ceiling is coffered and decorated with a floral border. The most sacred and at the same time most decorative part is the Torah shrine, which is located on the eastern wall of the temple. It contains the holy books, Ashkenazi and Sephardic Torah scrolls and the Old Testament . On both sides of this part there are two pillars, the same as the pillars of the shrine, only with a round cross-section. They carry a large marble cube that symbolizes Moses' ark with the ten commandments. These decorative architectural elements date from the reconstruction of the cultural monument after the Second World War , after the interior design, with the exception of the spatial concept, was completely degraded during the occupation. In the context of the urban planning, the building of the synagogue was designed as a free-standing object in the depths of the parcel, which in certain respects makes it difficult to fully view the object from the street. This object position is mainly due to the historical-urbanistic matrix of the extended space, which is characterized by an irregular street structure and an elongated parcel.

The cultural monument of the Sukkat Shalom synagogue is an important cultural and historical testimony to the life of the Jewish community in Belgrade and Serbia . Accordingly, the cultural and historical value of the object derives primarily from its religious function, in terms of the fact that it is the only authentic active religious object of the Jewish community in Serbia and that it is one of the rare preserved objects of synagogue architecture in Serbia. On the other hand, as a representative example of academic architecture and the work of an important and productive architect, the object has architectural and urbanistic value.

literature

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