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Obj. ID: 11696
Jewish Architecture
  Osei Hesed Progressive Synagogue in Drohobych, Ukraine

© Jewish Galicia and Bukovina N.P.O., http://jgaliciabukovina.net, Photographer: Levin, Vladimir, 2009

Despite extensive alteration --the building has been essentially gutted-- the beauty and sophistication of design which the New Synagogue of Drohobycz built in 1909 once presented to the populace remains evident. 

            Closely hewing to its slightly irregular lot, the building itself is a slightly irregular parallelogram, the non-right angles disguised by the corner treatment. Both street facades present a stylized and intelligent facades.  The W facade, the smaller of the two, is framed by two small towers, rising only slightly above the cornice line, stylistically related to the Viennese Secession, though, as the architect is currently unknown, the exact relationship remains elusive.  The towers, strongly and smoothly rusticated on the lower portions, are capped by strongly styled pediments flanked by rich plaster decoration.  The entire cornice of the building --masking the true roofline-- is punctuated by small towerettes which reiterate the rhythm of the facade.  The SW tower window is blind, paralleling that of the SE corner and reflecting the interior organization of the building.

            Between the towers of the W facade are three windows; the northernmost is divided through by a floor, as is the tower window, reflecting the location of the Woman’s Gallery in the interior.  Both windows extend slightly lower.  Separating the center windows are Secession-style pilasters, which extend to just below the rustication of the towers.

            The S facade, having a fourth window, has a more complex rhythm.  Rather than the simple (1)-2-1-2-(1) of the W facade, it has a 1-2-1-2-2-1-2-1 with fractional pilasters framing either side.  On both facades, the rhythm of the pilasters is repeated in the attic level.  The E facade, relatively plain, features the entrances, originally separate ones for Men and Women, though one has now been closed up.  The S corner has a risalite with a blind window, paralleling that of the W facade.  The northern door was originally the Women’s entrance while the southern door, now closed, was the Men’s.  Presumably, both original doors were identical, though  only one elaborately-worked wood and metal creation remains.

            Due to the extensive interior alterations --the building has been gutted and converted into a gymnasium, little factual can be said of the interior design.  Scant evidence of the original function remains’ a small depression centered on the southern, Jerusalem-facing wall, located opposite the center pair of pilasters on the S facade, though not marked from the exterior was probably the Torah niche.  This contention further supported by the presence of two blind windows on the E and W facades, which would render the interior lighting more pleasant.  The location in the N of what appears to be the Women’s Gallery would also support this conjectural internal organization, but the substantial alterations to the interior render the significance of any interior organization speculative.

Summary and Remarks
Remarks

18 image(s)

sub-set tree:

Name/Title
Osei Hesed Progressive Synagogue in Drohobych | Unknown
Object Detail
Monument Setting
Unknown
Date
1909
Synagogue active dates
Reconstruction dates
Artist/ Maker
Unknown
Origin
Historical Origin
Community type
Congregation
Unknown
Location
Ukraine | Lvivska obl. | Drohobych (Дрогобич)
| Corner of Mazepy and Sholem-Aleikhem St.
Site
Unknown
School/Style
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
Sport facility
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
Significance Rating
3 (National)
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
Sources
CJA documentation; Jewish Cemeteries, Synagogues, and mass grave sites in Ukraine. United States Commission for the Preservation of America's Heritage Abroad (Washington D.C., 2005); Meir Wunder, Benjamin Lukin, Boris Khaimovich, Grandeur and Glory: Remnants of Jewish Art in Galicia, vol. 1: Eastern Galicia, A-O (Jerusalem, 2005), p. 71 with ill.; Iosif Gelston, "Evreis'ki kul'tobi sporudy Drohobycha" in: Sakral'ne mistetstvo Boikivshchyny: naukovi chytannia pam'iati Mikhaila Dragana (Drohobych, 1997), p. 24, ill. on p. 25; Iosif Gel'ston, "Arkhitekturnye osobennosti planirovok sinagog Drogobycha", Evreis'ka istoriia ta kul'tura v Ukraini, materialy konferentsii, Kyiv, 2-5 veresnia 1996 (Kyiv, 1997), p. 149; Vladimir Likhodedov, Synagogues (Minsk, 2007), ill. 197 on p. 104
Type
Documenter
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Author of description
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Architectural Drawings
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Computer Reconstruction
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Section Head
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Language Editor
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Donor
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Negative/Photo. No.
The following information on this monument will be completed:
Unknown |