Synagogue (Sarajevo)

The Ashkenazi Synagogue of Sarajevo

The interior with Bima , Torah shrine , Parochet and Ner Tamid .

Photo from 1914

The Synagogue of Sarajevo or Synagogue of the Ashkenazim is located in Sarajevo on the southern bank of the Miljacka River . The synagogue is considered the third largest in Europe and was built in 1902. The synagogue now serves as the main synagogue of the Sarajevo Jewish community. The Old Synagogue (Il Kal Grandi), on the other hand, now houses an exhibition, but the synagogue room on the ground floor is used for special occasions for Jewish prayer.

history

The history of the Jews in Sarajevo can be traced back to the 16th century. These were Sephardic Jews. A first synagogue was built around 1581, which was destroyed around 1679 and 1778, but was rebuilt afterwards. Towards the end of the 19th century, large groups of Ashkenazim settled in Sarajevo for the first time . Since the Ashkenazim did not have their own synagogue, they decided to build their own. The Czech Karel Pařík , who designed the synagogue in the so-called Proto-Moorish style, was commissioned with the work . The construction work on the synagogue was finished in 1902.

The synagogue has large arches with richly painted decorations. The high, ornate ceiling was highlighted by a ten-pointed star. Today the synagogue is limited to the women's gallery on the upper floor. At the entrance, a menorah commemorates the 400-year history of the Jews in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The synagogue originally belonged to the Ashkenazim, while the Sephardim built a new synagogue in 1932, but it was destroyed in 1941. Today the synagogue is shared by the Ashkenazim and Sephardim.