Home
   Under Reconstruction!
Object Alone

Obj. ID: 8902
Jewish Architecture
  Hasidic Beit Midrash in Kupiškis, Lithuania

© Richard Schofield, Photographer: Schofield, Richard, 2017

The Hasidic beit midrash was probably built at the end of the 19th century. It can be seen in photographs from the 1930s showing its southern and a part of the eastern façade. Apparently it was a rather small redbrick structure covered with a hipped tin roof. Its corners and the division between the prayer hall and the western part were emphasized by lesenes. Judging from the southern façade, the western two-storey part contained rectangular windows in both tiers, and the eastern prayer hall was lit by larger round-headed windows. The central pier of the eastern façade – corresponding to the interior location of the Torah ark – was wider than the side piers.

After WWII the building was converted into a boiler-house that functions until today. The façades were plastered and changed completely. Only the lesenes, and most likely a narrow cornice at the top of the façades have survived from the original structure. Rectangular windows now pierce the façades, and two gates were cut into the structure on its northern side. The eastern façade is blank and has a redbrick annex connecting it to the former Great Synagogue. Another annex made of corrugated sheet metal is attached to the western façade, and an annex of white silicate bricks abuts on the northern side.

The interior layout, including the eastern prayer hall and two rooms on the west, is preserved. The silhouettes of the bricked-up round-headed openings are discernible on the western wall of the former prayer hall; the remnants of two round-headed arched openings, which connected the women’s section with the prayer hall, can be seen in the southwestern room. The rest of the interior, including the ceiling and flooring, have been totally destroyed.

Summary and Remarks
Remarks

7 image(s)

sub-set tree:

Name/Title
Hasidic Beit Midrash in Kupiškis | Unknown
Object Detail
Monument Setting
Unknown
Date
1880-1900?
Synagogue active dates
Reconstruction dates
After 1945, 2017
Artist/ Maker
Unknown
Historical Origin
Unknown
Community type
Congregation
Unknown
Location
Lithuania | Panevėžys County | Kupiškis
| 3b Lauryno Stuokos-Gucevičiaus Sq.
Site
Unknown
School/Style
Period
Unknown
Period Detail
Collection
Unknown |
Documentation / Research project
Unknown
Iconographical Subject
Unknown |
Textual Content
Unknown |
Languages of inscription
Unknown
Shape / Form
Unknown
Material / Technique
Material Stucture
Material Decoration
Material Bonding
Material Inscription
Material Additions
Material Cloth
Material Lining
Tesserae Arrangement
Density
Colors
Construction material
Brick
Measurements
Height
Length
Width
Depth
Circumference
Thickness
Diameter
Weight
Axis
Panel Measurements
Condition
Extant
Documented by CJA
Surveyed by CJA
Present Usage
Factory
Present Usage Details
Condition of Building Fabric
B (Fair)
Architectural Significance type
Historical significance: Event/Period
Historical significance: Collective Memory/Folklore
Historical significance: Person
Architectural Significance: Style
Architectural Significance: Artistic Decoration
Urban significance
Part of shulhoyf
Significance Rating
1 (Local)
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
Suggested Reconsdivuction
History/Provenance
Main Surveys & Excavations
2006
Sources
CJA & Lita documentation; Pinkas hakehilot: Lita, ed. Dov Levin (Jerusalem, 1996), p. 561, 563; Rossiiskaia evreiskaia entsiklopediia (Moscow), vol. 5 - 2004, p. 240; Lite, eds. Mendl Sudarski, Uriyah Katsenelnbogn and I. Kisin (New York, 1951), ill. on p. 1603; ill. in ww.zydai.lt/lt/content/viewitem/705/; Ephraim Oshry, The annihilation of Lithuanian Jewry (Brooklyn, N.Y.: Judaica Press, 1995), p. 212; Hamelits 224 (14[26]-10-1899): 7; Yahadut lita, 4 vols. (Tel Aviv, 1967), vol. 3, p. 343; Lite, eds. Mendl Sudarski, Uriyah Katsenelnbogn and I. Kisin (New York, 1951), vol. 1, p. 1603
Type
Documenter
|
Author of description
|
Architectural Drawings
|
Computer Reconstruction
|
Section Head
|
Language Editor
|
Donor
|
Negative/Photo. No.
The following information on this monument will be completed:
Unknown |