Tallinn Synagogue
The Tallinn Synagogue ( Estonian Tallinna sünagoog ) is the largest synagogue in Estonia .
The Tallinn Synagogue is also known as the Beit Bella Synagogue . It is located at 16 Karu Street in the center of Tallinn, where the makeshift assembly and church of the Jewish community of North Estonia was located until 2007.
The new synagogue was inaugurated on May 16, 2007 and is the first new synagogue to be built in the Baltic States after the Second World War . The architects of the light-flooded, modern building with traditional overtones were Lembit-Kaur Stöör and Tõnis Kimmel. The construction cost around 1.4 million euros, which was mainly financed by donations.
The church offers 180 seats, which can be expanded to 230 for concerts and cultural events. In addition to the actual synagogue, the complex includes a mikveh and a kosher restaurant. The synagogue is headed by Rabbi Shmuel Kot of the Hasidic Chabad movement.
Tallinn's old synagogue on Maakri Street, which was the center of Jewish community life in Estonia until the Holocaust , was built in 1883. It was destroyed in the devastating attack by the Soviet Air Force on Tallinn in March 1944. Since 1946 the small Jewish community in Tallinn had to rely on makeshift rooms.
Web links
- Estonia opens first new synagogue (BBC news)
- Synagogue set to open in Estonia for first time since Holocaust
- Estonia's first synagogue since World War II opens (European Jewish Press)
Coordinates: 59 ° 26 ′ 19 ″ N , 24 ° 46 ′ 0 ″ E