Obj. ID: 16982
Jewish Architecture  Great Synagogue in Illintsi, Ukraine

The free standing synagogue building consists of a main volume containing a prayer hall and attached lower volumes on its west, south, and north sides.

The main volume contains a square prayer hall. It is spanned with pendentive vaults supported by the exterior walls and the interior four Doric pillars.  Thus, the hall is divided into nine equal bays.  The walls are decorated by Doric pilasters.  The entrance to the hall was in the central bay of the west wall; the Torah Ark was situated in the centre of the opposite wall. In the lower tier, the south and north walls were pierced by slit windows which connected the hall to the south and north women’s sections.  The east wall had windows with round arches in the south and north bays.  On the upper tier, each wall was pierced by three large windows with round arches.

The exterior of the main volume reflects its inner structure.  The walls are divided into three bays by four pilasters on each wall and topped by the high frieze and moulded cornice.  Each wall is pierced by three large windows with round arches in its upper tier.  The lower tier of the south, west and north walls is hidden by attached volumes, and only the east wall is exposed to all its height.  In the lower tier of its south and north bays, is situated a pair of large round-arched windows.  The east and west walls are crowned by the high baroque curved gables.  Each gable has in its centre an aedicula composed of two pairs of Doric pilasters and a triangular gable above them.  A round window is situated in the centre of each aedicula.  The building is covered by a pitched roof.

The one-storied volumes are attached to the main volume on the west, south, and north sides.  The western volume contains a vestibule (polish), the south and north – women’s sections.  These volumes are covered by lean-to roofs, which end beneath the windows of the upper tier of the main volume.  The facades are flanked by pilasters and surmounted by a cornice.  The south and north women’s sections have a window in their eastern walls and at least three windows and possibly a door in their outer (north and south, correspondingly) walls.  The west vestibule has six windows with segmented arches and, probably, a door in its centre. 

The present building consists of an original two-storied high main volume, original west, south, and north lower volumes, modern elongated attachments to southeastern and northwestern corners and modern rectangular attachments to northeastern and southwestern corners, as well as a small attachment in the middle of the west façade.

The main volume of the synagogue is almost completely preserved, but its inner space is divided into two storeys by a metal floor, inserted between the windows of the first and second tier.  Accordingly, new metal stairs are installed in the southeastern corner of the building.  The four inner pillars, pilasters and vaults are intact.  The original entrance in the west wall is bricked up and a new wide gate was made in the east wall, in the place of the Torah Ark niche.  Another door, leading to the lower volume, was opened on the western part of the south wall.  The small windows in the lower tier on the south and north walls, which connected the women’s galleries and the prayer hall, are bricked up; only traces of two pairs in the north wall are still visible.  The northern semicircular window on the lower tier of the east wall became rectangular and the southern window was blocked.  Of the big semicircular windows in the second tier, all three windows on the north wall and the middle window on the west wall are blocked.  The most southern window on the east wall is converted into a door leading on the second floor.  On the exterior, a metal staircase on east façade leads to this door.  Pilasters and entablature on all façades as well as baroque gables with round windows on east and west sides are intact.

The west, south and north lower volumes retained their forms and part of the fenestration.  New walls divide the west volume off south and north ones. The roof of the north volume is new, built of metal constructions in the way it blocks the windows of the second tier of the main volume.  New doors were opened in order to connect the original volumes with modern attachments, as well as a door in the eastern wall of the south volume leading outside.  The south edge of the west gallery was remodelled to connect it to the modern attachment.

The modern attachments are simple rectangular single-floor buildings with rectangular openings and lean-to roofs.

Drawings of the Great Synagogue in Illintsi, Ukraine

Great Synagogue in Illintsi - 3D computer model

Great Synagogue in Illintsi - photos of 2019