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Obj. ID: 8866
Jewish Architecture
  Beit Midrash in Kalvarija, Lithuania

© “Synagogues in Lithuania: A Catalogue” Archives, Photographer: Červiakov, Vitalij, 2007

The beit midrash was built at the shulhoyf in 1865. The structure is based on a rectangular, almost square ground plan, and comprises a prayer hall on the southeast and a two-storey part on the northwest. It is built of brick, plastered, and covered with a saddle tile roof. The beit midrash stands on a plastered socle built of boulders.

The building of the former beit midrash has been under reconstruction following the design by Antanas Gvildys and the UAB “Archinova” from 2002. During the reconstruction certain original elements vanished, others were transformed and new elements added. The following description highlights the changes that occurred between 2001, the year before the renovation, and 2007.

During the reconstruction, a former cellar was unearthed, the foundation and the walls were reinforced, and cracks in the walls were fixed. The former rectangular plan was altered as a projection was added at the center of the southeastern wall.

The main, northwestern, two-storey façade is symmetrical, with a central projection surmounted by a figured pediment. The corners of the façade and its projection are accentuated by pilasters terminating in turrets. Corbelled pilasters emphasize the central part of the projection, which is pierced by a broad rectangular doorway and a large pointed window above it (its frame was destroyed during the reconstruction). Plaster Tablets of the Law are set above this window; the pediment is topped with a corbelled pier. In the lateral portions of the façade, the ground floor openings are rectangular, while those of the first floor are pointed, and surrounded with flat moldings. The lateral portions of the façade are crowned with an arched band and dentiled cornice. The southeastern façade is pierced with tall pointed windows. It has a rounded projection, added in 2002. The lateral façades of the projection are pierced by pointed windows, and its rounded wall has an oculus with a Star of David set in its glazing. The façade is crowned with a molded cornice. The northeastern and southwestern façades are similar. The windows of the prayer hall are tall, pointed, with plaster archivolts; windows of the two-storey part are rectangular. The triangular gables are pierced by four rectangular windows (the lateral ones are narrower), and a small semicircular window is placed above them.

In 2007 the interior was under reconstruction: a new corridor was built on the ground floor along the partition wall between the prayer hall and the two-storey part, and two symmetrical reinforced concrete staircases were installed there. As a result, the entrance door now leads to the vestibule, from which the new corridor, the former prayer hall and the auxiliary rooms can be accessed. The wooden ceilings have been replaced with reinforced concrete ones. In 2001 the ceiling of the former prayer hall was decorated with plaster paterae. Four round wooden pillars around the central bimah used to support the ceiling beams. In between the pillars, there were remnants of a wooden cove dome

painted deep blue and surrounded with a molded framing. In 2007 the pillars and the spanning beams were replaced with the metal ones and a round opening was left in place of the former dome. During the reconstruction, remnants of stencil murals were uncovered and rectangular openings to the first floor women’s gallery exposed. The site of the Torah ark is marked by an arched colonnade, also exposed in 2002. After WWII a doorway was cut through the Torah ark. During the recent reconstruction, the new projection was built behind the former Torah ark. It adds three windows to the number of windows in the prayer hall, bringing it from the original twelve to fifteen.

Summary and Remarks
Remarks

180 image(s)

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Name/Title
Beit Midrash in Kalvarija | Unknown
Object Detail
Monument Setting
Unknown
Date
1865
Active dates
until WWII
Reconstruction dates
After 1945; 2001-2007
Artist/ Maker
Gvildys, Antanas (architect)
|Reconstruction of 2001
Historical Origin
Unknown
Community type
Congregation
Unknown
Location
Lithuania | Marijampolė County | Kalvarija
| 16 (18) Sodų St.
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
Educational Institution
Present Usage Details
Condition of Building Fabric
A (Good)
Architectural Significance type
Historical significance: Event/Period
Historical significance: Collective Memory/Folklore
Historical significance: Person
Architectural Significance: Style
Architectural Significance: Artistic Decoration

Stencil paintings 

Urban significance
Part of synagogue compound (shulhoyf)
Significance Rating
2 (Regional)
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
East
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
Marija Rupeikienė 2001; 2007
Sources

Cohen-Mushlin, Aliza, Sergey Kravtsov, Vladimir Levin, Giedrė Mickūnaitė, Jurgita Šiaučiūnaitė-Verbickienė (eds.), Synagogues in Lithuania. A Catalogue, 2 vols. (Vilnius: VIlnius Academy of Art Press, 2010-12)
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 |