Sarajevo Synagogue
Encyclopedia
Sarajevo Synagogue, located on the south bank of the river Miljacka
, was constructed in 1902 and is the only functioning synagogue in Sarajevo
today.
, was destroyed by the Nazis in 1941.
Ashkenazi Jews arrived in Sarajevo with the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the late nineteenth century. An Ashkenazi synagogue, seen in the photo to the right, was built in 1902 in an elaborate Moorish Revival
style. Designed by Karel Pařík, its highly decorated neo-Moorish style was a popular choice for synagogues in the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
The synagogue has enormous arches with richly-painted decorations. The high, ornate ceiling was highlighted by a ten-pointed star. Today the synagogue is confined to the women's galleries on the upper floor. At the entrance, a stone menorah commemorates the 400-year anniversary of the Jews
in Bosnia and Herzegovina
.
The devastation wreaked by the Holocaust and the civil war during the 1990’s has left fewer than 5,700 Jews in the former Yugoslavia
. The Jewish community, like the entire country, was once defined by its unique combination of eastern and western traditions. Populations of Sephardi and Ashkenazi Jews
peacefully co-existed with their Christian
and Muslim
neighbors in cities like Sarajevo
.
Miljacka
The Miljacka is a river in Bosnia and Herzegovina that passes through Sarajevo and East Sarajevo. It is famous for being "Sarajevo's River", and it has come to be identified immediately with the city itself....
, was constructed in 1902 and is the only functioning synagogue in Sarajevo
Sarajevo
Sarajevo |Bosnia]], surrounded by the Dinaric Alps and situated along the Miljacka River in the heart of Southeastern Europe and the Balkans....
today.
History
A Sephardi synagogue (also known as Sijavuš-pašina daira or Velika Avlija) is known to have been built in 1581 with the donation of Turskish beglerbeg Sijamuš-paša to help members of the Jewish community in Sarajevo who were poor. By the end of the 16th century, the space encompassing Velika Avlija was turned into the first synagogue. The building burned down in both 1679 and 1778, and was rebuilt each time. It now serves as a Jewish museum. Next door is the New Synagogue (Novi Hram) serving as an art gallery owned by the Jewish community of Sarajevo. The magnificent Sephardic synagogue of 1932 (Il Kal Grande) acknowledged as the largest and most ornate synagogues in the BalkansBalkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
, was destroyed by the Nazis in 1941.
Ashkenazi Jews arrived in Sarajevo with the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the late nineteenth century. An Ashkenazi synagogue, seen in the photo to the right, was built in 1902 in an elaborate Moorish Revival
Moorish Revival
Moorish Revival or Neo-Moorish is one of the exotic revival architectural styles that were adopted by architects of Europe and the Americas in the wake of the Romanticist fascination with all things oriental...
style. Designed by Karel Pařík, its highly decorated neo-Moorish style was a popular choice for synagogues in the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
The synagogue has enormous arches with richly-painted decorations. The high, ornate ceiling was highlighted by a ten-pointed star. Today the synagogue is confined to the women's galleries on the upper floor. At the entrance, a stone menorah commemorates the 400-year anniversary of the Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
.
The devastation wreaked by the Holocaust and the civil war during the 1990’s has left fewer than 5,700 Jews in the former Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
. The Jewish community, like the entire country, was once defined by its unique combination of eastern and western traditions. Populations of Sephardi and Ashkenazi Jews
Ashkenazi Jews
Ashkenazi Jews, also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim , are the Jews descended from the medieval Jewish communities along the Rhine in Germany from Alsace in the south to the Rhineland in the north. Ashkenaz is the medieval Hebrew name for this region and thus for Germany...
peacefully co-existed with their Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
and Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
neighbors in cities like Sarajevo
Sarajevo
Sarajevo |Bosnia]], surrounded by the Dinaric Alps and situated along the Miljacka River in the heart of Southeastern Europe and the Balkans....
.
Sources
- Bosnia and Herzegovina: Ashkenazi Synagogue, (International Student Travel ConfederationInternational Student Travel ConfederationThe International Student Travel Confederation is a non-profit organisation founded in 1949 with the aim to secure and inform students of cheaper and or tax free travel...
)