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Img. ID: 38762

© Center for Jewish Art, Photographer: Unknown, 2003

Slonim was one of the most important Jewish communities in the territory of the modern Republic of Belarus. Jews began to settle in Slonim in the 14th century and Jewish life flourished there until the Holocaust.

Of the 24 synagogues that existed in town before WWII, only three buildings, all of them documented by the Center for Jewish Art still exist. Fortunately, the Great Synagogue of Slonim is among them. It is one of the most impressive and splendid synagogues in Belarus and the whole of Eastern Europe.

The synagogue was built in 1635 and in the eighteenth century it acquired its Baroque high gable. The core rectangular prayer hall had a central Bimah, built as so-called Bimah-support construction. Its four massive pillars supported the vaults of the hall; a richly decorated inner vault was situated above the place of Torah reading. The prayer hall was flanked on north and south by lower attachments, comprising the women’s sections. These were connected to the main hall through small windows allowing women mainly to listen to the prayers. In the nineteenth and early twentieth century additional attachments were added to the western and eastern façades. The existence of the attachment on the eastern side, where the Torah ark was situated, is quite unusual in synagogue architecture of Eastern Europe.

In the first half of the twentieth century, the synagogue was reconstructed: the side women’s sections were abandoned, their windows blocked and a new metal gallery for women was introduced to the space of the prayer hall. This move reflected the changing status of women in the community and the attempt to emulate the large synagogues in Europe, where women’s galleries were situated inside the main prayer halls. At that time the beautiful murals were produced; they were especially prominent on the eastern wall, framing the Torah Ark.

The Great Synagogue survived the Holocaust. During the Communist regime it was used as a warehouse for a furniture store, and thus the majority of its original features, including the murals in the upper register of walls were preserved.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the establishment of independent Republic of Belarus, the building was returned to the Belorussian Jewish community, and since then it stands abandoned.  Moreover, a segment of the building was used as a public outhouse for visitors of the town’s market situated on the synagogue's western side.

Unfortunately, the Jewish community is unable to take care of the magnificent synagogue. The only "progress" in the 1990s and 2000s was partial demolition of the side attachments, which constituted an original and inseparable feature of the synagogue. The main prayer hall still stands, but the murals are fading out in a process of quick destruction.

The documentation of the building by the Center for Jewish Art in 2003 now allows a virtual reconstruction and preservation of this magnificent synagogue, and eventually, also its physical restoration.

Name/Title
Description of the Great Synagogue in Slonim | Unknown
Object
Object Detail
Description
Settings
Unknown
Date
1635 - 1642, 1886
Synagogue active dates
Reconstruction dates
Artist/ Maker
Unknown (Unknown)
Origin
Historical Origin
Unknown
Community type
Congregation
Unknown
Location
Belarus | Hrodzienskaia vobl. | Slonim
| 1 Sovetskaia St.
Site
Unknown
School/Style
Period
Unknown
Period Detail
Collection
Unknown |
Documentation / Research project
Unknown
Material / Technique
Material Stucture
Material Decoration
Material Bonding
Material Inscription
Material Additions
Material Cloth
Material Lining
Tesserae Arrangement
Density
Colors
Construction material
Measurements
Height
Length
Width
Depth
Circumference
Thickness
Diameter
Weight
Axis
Panel Measurements
Subject
Unknown |
Condition
Extant
Documented by CJA
Surveyed by CJA
Present Usage
Present Usage Details
Condition of Building Fabric
Architectural Significance type
Historical significance: Event/Period
Historical significance: Collective Memory/Folklore
Historical significance: Person
Architectural Significance: Style
Architectural Significance: Artistic Decoration
Urban significance
Significance Rating
Textual Content
Unknown |
Languages of inscription
Unknown
Shape / Form
Unknown
0
Ornamentation
Custom
Contents
Codicology
Scribes
Script
Number of Lines
Ruling
Pricking
Quires
Catchwords
Hebrew Numeration
Blank Leaves
Direction/Location
Façade (main)
Endivances
Location of Torah Ark
Location of Apse
Location of Niche
Location of Reader's Desk
Location of Platform
Temp: Architecture Axis
Arrangement of Seats
Location of Women's Section
Direction Prayer
Direction Toward Jerusalem
Coin
Coin Series
Coin Ruler
Coin Year
Denomination
Signature
Colophon
Scribal Notes
Watermark
Hallmark
Group
Group
Group
Group
Group
Trade Mark
Binding
Decoration Program
Summary and Remarks
Remarks
Suggested Reconsdivuction
History/Provenance
Main Surveys & Excavations
Bibliography
Short Name
Full Name
Volume
Page
Type
Documenter
|
Author of description
|
Architectural Drawings
|
Computer Reconstruction
|
Section Head
|
Language Editor
Carmen Echevarria | 2016
Donor
|
Negative/Photo. No.
A173023