The Czernowitz Synagogue was a domed,

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 Romanticist Orientalism. It reached the height of its popularity after the mid-19th centur ...

synagogue built in 1873 in

Czernowitz Chernivtsi ( uk, Чернівці́}, ; ro, Cernăuți, ; see also other names) is a city in the historical region of Bukovina, which is now divided along the borders of Romania and Ukraine, including this city, which is situated on the up ...

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

(today

Chernivtsi Chernivtsi ( uk, Чернівці́}, ; ro, Cernăuți, ; see also other names) is a city in the historical region of Bukovina, which is now divided along the borders of Romania and Ukraine, including this city, which is situated on the upp ...

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 ...

). The synagogue was closed in 1940 and serves as a movie theater today.

History

The original building was designed by architect

Julian Zachariewicz Julian may refer to: People * Julian (emperor) (331–363), Roman emperor from 361 to 363 * Julian (Rome), referring to the Roman gens Julia, with imperial dynasty offshoots * Saint Julian (disambiguation), several Christian saints * Julian (give ...

(1873–78). The synagogue was confiscated and closed by the Soviet government after annexing

Northern Bukovina Bukovinagerman: Bukowina or ; hu, Bukovina; pl, Bukowina; ro, Bucovina; uk, Буковина, ; see also other languages. is a historical region, variously described as part of either Central or Eastern Europe (or both).Klaus Peter Berger ...

and its largest city, Czernowitz, from

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

in 1940. The building was burned by German and Romanian soldiers in 1941, after Nazi-allied Romania retook the city. After

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 ...

the Soviet authorities tried to blow up the destroyed temple, but the building survived. In 1959, the outer walls were used to partially reconstruct the building for use as a movie theater that was named ('October', in honor of the

October Revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key moment ...

). The building lost its dome and retains very little of its former appearance. After the

fall of the Soviet Union The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...

the theater lost its Soviet name and was renamed "Chernivtsi".

Joseph Schmidt Joseph Schmidt (4 March 1904 – 16 November 1942) was an Austro-Hungarian and Romanian Jewish tenor and actor. Life and career Schmidt was born in Davideny (Ukrainian: '' Davydivka'') village in the Storozhynets district of the Bukovina ...

sang in the choir as a boy and served as cantor as an adult.

Other synagogues in Chernivtsi

On September 25, 2001, a synagogue was opened in Chernivtsi. The Sadovsky Street Synagogue, closed by the Soviet Regime, was renovated, reopened, and also serves the Jewish Community Center.

References

External links

*
Old Czernowitz Photos. Tempelgasse - Старі фото Чернівців. Вулиця Університетська до Темплю
Edward Tur. * {{cite web , url=http://chernivtsi-kino.at.ua/index/0-2 , title=Інформація про кінотеатр , trans-title=Information about the theater , publisher=Кінотеатр "Чернівці" hernivtsi Cinema, lang=uk Former synagogues in Ukraine Moorish Revival synagogues Synagogues completed in 1873 Buildings and structures in Chernivtsi Bukovina Jews Synagogues destroyed by Nazi Germany Culture in Chernivtsi Synagogue buildings with domes