The Choral Synagogue ( uk, Хоральная синагога) was a

synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...

in Georgievskaya Street 18, in

Mariupol Mariupol (, ; uk, Маріу́поль ; russian: Мариу́поль) is a city in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. It is situated on the northern coast (Pryazovia) of the Sea of Azov, at the mouth of the Kalmius River. Prior to the 2022 Russian i ...

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

. It was established in the house of the merchant Anton Chabanenko in 1882.

History

The first mention of the

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

settlement in Mariupol dates back to 1820. From that time until the beginning of the twentieth century, five synagogues and houses of worship were opened in the city.

Synagogue, Harlampievskaya Street

According to the book Mariupol and its Environs (1892), a first synagogue was built in 1864 on Harlampievskaya Street ( uk, вулиця Харлампіївська) at the initiative of

artisan An artisan (from french: artisan, it, artigiano) is a skilled craft worker who makes or creates material objects partly or entirely by hand. These objects may be functional or strictly decorative, for example furniture, decorative art ...

Abram Freiman. It was one of the oldest religious buildings in Mariupol. At present, only part of the foundation and an arched gate are surviving.

Choral Synagogue, Georgievskaya Street

The Choral Synagogue in Georgievskaya Street 18 ( uk, вулиця Георгіївська) was the second synagogue in Mariupol, and was established in the house of the

merchant A merchant is a person who trades in commodities produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Historically, a merchant is anyone who is involved in business or trade. Merchants have operated for as long as indust ...

Anton Chabanenko in 1882. It was considered the second Jewish house of prayer in the history of the city. One of the initiators of the opening of the synagogue was Iosif I. Averbakh (Auerbach), the father of academic Mikhail Iosifovich Averbakh (russian: Михаи́л Ио́сифович Аверба́х), one of the founders and first director of the Helmholtz Central Institute of Ophtalmology. Some sources claim that the synagogue was destroyed during the

Nazi occupation German-occupied Europe refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly occupied and civil-occupied (including puppet governments) by the military forces and the government of Nazi Germany at various times between 1939 an ...

of Mariupol during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Other sources inform that with the rise of the

Bolsheviks The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...

in the early 20th century, the building of the synagogue was turned into a gymnasium, which it remained until the start of World War II. The building was practically not damaged during active hostilities. There is a version that the Germans opened a hospital in it, and when they retreated, tried to set fire to the building. One of the

Torah scrolls A ( he, סֵפֶר תּוֹרָה; "Book of Torah"; plural: ) or Torah scroll is a handwritten copy of the Torah, meaning the five books of Moses (the first books of the Hebrew Bible). The Torah scroll is mainly used in the ritual of Tora ...

survived the history of the synagogue and was transferred to the adjacent

Mariupol Museum of Local Lore The Mariupol Museum of Local Lore is a museum of regional history in the city of Mariupol, Ukraine, at 20 Georgievskaya Street ( uk, вулиця Георгіївська). The museum describes the natural conditions of the southern part of the D ...

for storage. After World War II, the building repeatedly changed owners and functions. In 1944 it housed a branch of , in the 1970s a medical school, then other teaching institutions. Until 1995, the building was considered communal property. Since 2016, the land has been owned by the Jewish community of Mariupol, but the building itself continued to be owned by a private individual. During the 1990s, the roof collapsed under heavy snow. Today, only the facade and foundations remain of the building. In 2021, an exhibition commemorating 80 years since the

Holocaust in Ukraine The Holocaust in Ukraine took place in the ''Reichskommissariat Ukraine'', the '' General Government'', the ''Crimean General Government'' and some areas which were located to the East of Reichskommissariat Ukraine (all of those areas were unde ...

was displayed in the remnants of the synagogue by the local municipality and Mayor, Mr. Boychenko Vadym. In early February 2022, the Department of Cultural and Civil Development of the Mariupol City Council announced that the Choral Synagogue may be included in the State Register of Immovable Monuments of Ukraine. In addition, the mayor's office applied for the restoration of the synagogue under the program of the President of Ukraine "Great Restoration". Furthermore, the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine was said considering the inclusion of the building in the register of synagogues.

Synagogue, Italiiska Street

A third synagogue was built on Italiiska Street, uk, італійська вулиця) at some time after the Choral Synagogue, but little is known about it.

Synagogue, Mykolaivska Street

A fourth synagogue was built in Mykolaivska Street, 28 at some time after the Choral Synagogue.

Architecture

The Choral Synagogue was built in neoclassical style, mainly using brick. The first floor was raised above the ground, and architectural features included high

arches An arch is a vertical curved structure that spans an elevated space and may or may not support the weight above it, or in case of a horizontal arch like an arch dam, the hydrostatic pressure against it. Arches may be synonymous with vault ...

, frontal and interior

cornices In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, around the top edge of a ...

, a decorative triangular

pediment Pediments are gables, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the lintel, or entablature, if supported by columns. Pediments can contain an overdoor and are usually topped by hood moulds. A pedimen ...

with

pedestals A pedestal (from French ''piédestal'', Italian ''piedistallo'' 'foot of a stall') or plinth is a support at the bottom of a statue, vase, column, or certain altars. Smaller pedestals, especially if round in shape, may be called socles. In ...

. The inside featured a columned hall with a place for studying the

Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the s ...

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

, benches for worshipers, a stage for reading the Holy Scriptures, and women's prayer galleries. In the late 1880s, a

dome A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a m ...

was erected, distinguishing the building from the surrounding area.

Gallery

File:Синагога на Георгиевской, 18. г. Мариуполь.jpg, Choral Synagogue, front view File:Mariupol развалины синагоги тыл.jpg, Choral Synagogue, rear view File:Mariupol church sinagoga.jpg, Choral Synagogue, drawing Мариуполь, синагога (2).png, Mariupol, Mykolaivska Street, 28, synagogue, 1900 Мариуполь, Улица Николаевская, 28 , синагога.png, Mariupol, Mykolaivska Street, 28, synagogue, today

References

{{Reflist

External links

Postcard of the Choral Synagogue

Old Mariupol

Jewish community of Mariupol

Mariupol Future
Orthodox synagogues in Ukraine Synagogues in Ukraine Buildings and structures in Mariupol Former synagogues in Ukraine 19th-century synagogues