Img. ID: 430221
The synagogue is dedicated to the memory of Holocaust victims. It is located in a large new building opened in 1984 that also houses the offices of the Jewish Community of Thessaloniki. This building replaced a previous synagogue that belonged to the Bourla family that was destroyed in an earthquake in 1978. The Bourla family gave the synagogue to the community after World War II. In the new synagogue, the hechal (Ark) comes from the former Kal Sarfati, the French synagogue, and the tevah originates from the Baron Hirsch Synagogue, named for the Jewish philanthropist.
In 2015, the Jewish Community of Thessaloniki, under the leadership of President David Saltiel, sponsored the renovation of the synagogue for better liturgical functioning, to repair and replace electromechanical equipment for energy efficiency, and to highlight the historic elements of the sanctuary. The project was carried out by an architectural team of Dr. Elias Messinas with KARD Architects (Dimitris Raidis and Alexandros Kouloukouri).
A large commemorative plaque is set in the lobby wall of the community building close to the entrance to the synagogue. Inside the synagogue sanctuary, one side wall contains six tall and narrow inscriptions that record the names (12 per inscription), of more than 70 of the synagogues known to have existed in Thessaloniki, including those from before the great fire of 1917, and those in use during the interwar years of the 1920s and 1930s. According to published sources, more synagogues existed in Thessaloniki, especially prior to the great fire of 1917, where archival and published sources indicate to 32 synagogues, 17 communal and 65 private prayer halls (midrashim).This memorial list was included in the sanctuary renovation of 2017 and is based on the lists and descriptions of former synagogues compiled by architect Dr. Elias Messinas in his book The Synagogues of Greece: A Study of Synagogues in Macedonia and Thrace (2011) and second edition (2022).
Inside the synagogue sanctuary, one side wall contains six tall and narrow inscriptions that record the names (12 per inscription), of all the synagogues known to have existed in Thessaloniki, including those from before the great fire of 1917, and those in use during the interwar years of the 1920s and 1930s. This memorial list was included in the sanctuary renovation of 20?? and is based on the lists and descriptions of former synagogue compiled by architect Elias Messinas in his book The Synagogues of Greece: A Study of Synagogues in Macedonia and Thrace (2012).