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Obj. ID: 8952
Jewish Architecture
  Synagogue at 43 Trakų St. in Šiauliai, Lithuania

© Richard Schofield, Photographer: Schofield, Richard, 2017

The former synagogue is located between Vilniaus and Trakų Streets in the courtyard of the “Verpstas” knitting factory. In all likelihood, the building stands on the plot shown on the plan from 1874. Judging from its architecture, the synagogue was constructed at the turn of the 19th century in the so-called “brick style.” Some of its original forms are captured in photographs from 1920 and 1948 as well as in a drawing by Gerardas Bagdonavičius (1901–86).

Pilasters divide the synagogue’s elaborate Neo-Baroque northwestern façade into three unequal bays and a stringcourse separates its two registers. The segment-headed windows of the first floor are topped with undulating pediments. The façade is crowned with a sumptuous gable containing a pair of segmentheaded windows and a blind oculus above them in the center; the scalloped edges of the gable are decorated with turrets. Architecture of the side façades is rather modest. The northeastern façade is divided into five unequal bays by pilasters and crowned with a dentilled cornice. The second bay from the right apparently contains a portal. To the left, three tall segment-headed windows with brick moldings give light to the prayer hall. To the right, a blind arch repeats the form of the windows of the prayer hall. Evidently, the southwestern façade mirrored the northeastern one. However, by 1948 large original windows were replaced with two rows of rather small rectangular ones and an annex covered with a low hipped tin roof was attached to the second bay from the left. The blind arch, dentilled cornice, and two rows of windows survive to this day. The later drawing by Bagdonavičius shows that the orthwestern façade has retained its tripartite structure and general outline, but much of the decoration has been removed. Judging from the absence of ground-floor windows and an addition of a Star of David marking the gable’s top in the drawing instead of the existing oculus. Bagdonavičius sketched the former synagogue from memory.

In 2010 the building of the former synagogue is being extended eastwards and surrounded with various annexes on three sides. The main and side façades retain their original divisions, but the majority of decorative elements are lost and the northwestern gable has received a triangular form.

The interior of the synagogue has been destroyed.

Text from Aliza Cohen-Mushlin, Sergey Kravtsov, Vladimir Levin, Giedrė Mickūnaitė and Jurgita Šiaučiūnaitė-Verbickienė (eds.), Synagogues in Lithuania: A Catalogue. vol. 2 (Vilnius: Vilnius Academy of Art Press, 2012).

Summary and Remarks
Remarks

16 image(s)

sub-set tree:

Name/Title
Synagogue at 43 Trakų St. in Šiauliai | Unknown
Object Detail
Monument Setting
Unknown
Date
1900?
Synagogue active dates
Reconstruction dates
Artist/ Maker
Unknown
Historical Origin
Unknown
Community type
Congregation
Unknown
Location
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
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
2010
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)
http://www.siauliai.lt/img/photos/istorija/32.jpg;
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 |