The Great Synagogue in

Lutsk Lutsk ( uk, Луцьк, translit=Lutsk}, ; pl, Łuck ; yi, לוצק, Lutzk) is a city on the Styr River in northwestern Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Volyn Oblast (province) and the administrative center of the surrounding Luts ...

, Ukraine, is a

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

building with a tower. Located in the Jewish quarter, it was the religious, educational and community centre of Lutsk ( pl, Łuck) Jews until the

invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week aft ...

in the

Second World War 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 ...

. It was built in 1626 and is a good example of a

fortress synagogue A fortress synagogue is a synagogue built to withstand attack while protecting the lives of people sheltering within it. Fortress synagogues first appeared in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in the 16th century at a time of frequent invasion ...

. Partially destroyed in 1942, the synagogue was restored in the 1970s. It is now used as a

sports club A sports club or sporting club, sometimes an athletics club or sports society or sports association, is a group of people formed for the purpose of playing sports. Sports clubs range from organisations whose members play together, unpaid, and ...

History

The first records of the Jews in Lutsk date from 1388.

Vytautas the Great Vytautas (c. 135027 October 1430), also known as Vytautas the Great ( Lithuanian: ', be, Вітаўт, ''Vitaŭt'', pl, Witold Kiejstutowicz, ''Witold Aleksander'' or ''Witold Wielki'' Ruthenian: ''Vitovt'', Latin: ''Alexander Vitoldus'', O ...

Grand Duke of Lithuania The monarchy of Lithuania concerned the monarchical head of state of Lithuania, which was established as an absolute and hereditary monarchy. Throughout Lithuania's history there were three ducal dynasties that managed to stay in power—House ...

, granted privileges for Lutsk Jews. Towards the end of the 15th century, the Jewish community of Lutsk had acquired considerable wealth and influence, and some of its members figured prominently as tax collectors. The Jews were generally engaged in trade but they also owned a

brewery A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of be ...

and operated

guild A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular area. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradesmen belonging to a professional association. They sometimes ...

s. Scientific research indicates that the first brick

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 ...

was built in second half of the 16th century. It is assumed the synagogue must have been destroyed by fire during the

Tatars The Tatars ()Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different

raid in 1617. The new synagogue was then built on the ruins of the old building. King

Sigismund III Vasa Sigismund III Vasa ( pl, Zygmunt III Waza, lt, Žygimantas Vaza; 20 June 1566 – 30 April 1632 N.S.) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1587 to 1632 and, as Sigismund, King of Sweden and Grand Duke of Finland from 1592 to ...

of Poland approved the construction of a new synagogue and school on 5 May 1626. However construction of the synagogue was opposed by its Dominican neighbours. Under Christian rules, synagogues could not exceed a certain height. However, the king confirmed his approval and the Jewish community was victorious. The Dominicans had fallen from favor with the royal

court A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance ...

. The height of synagogue was not to exceed that of the Dominican church. The cube-shaped prayer hall representing architecture of the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

Polish Renaissance The Renaissance in Poland ( pl, Renesans, Odrodzenie; literally: the Rebirth) lasted from the late 15th to the late 16th century and is widely considered to have been the Golden Age of Polish culture. Ruled by the Jagiellonian dynasty, the Crown ...

was the main part of new synagogue. The walls were up to 1.5 m thick. There were two additional sections used by women and for the Jewish school or

Yeshiva A yeshiva (; he, ישיבה, , sitting; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are s ...

. A defensive tower containing the arsenal with loopholes was built on the southern corner of the prayer hall according to the wishes the king. The tower formed part of city walls, allowing the synagogue to contribute to defences in addition to its religious and educational roles.

Modern era

In 1869, the synagogue was damaged by fire. It was restored in 1886. In the 19th century, the way of life of the Jewish community of Lutsk had changed due to the economic and legislative features of

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

. In accordance with the trends of the time, the Jewish community was segmented. New Jewish quarters with synagogues appeared in Lutsk. The old quarters were generally populated by poor Jews living in dirty wooden houses built close to each other. As a result, the main synagogue lost its central role. The synagogue was shelled during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

but not seriously damaged. In the

Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 1918 and 1939. The state was established on 6 November 1918, before the end of ...

, the city of Łuck became the capital of the

Wołyń Voivodeship (1921–39) Volhynian Voivodeship or Wołyń Voivodeship may refer to: *Volhynian Voivodeship (1569–1795) * *Wołyń Voivodeship (1921–1939) Wołyń Voivodeship or Volhynian Voivodeship was an administrative region of interwar Poland (1918–1939) with a ...

and in 1936 the

provincial administration Provincial may refer to: Government & Administration * Provincial capitals, an administrative sub-national capital of a country * Provincial city (disambiguation) * Provincial minister (disambiguation) * Provincial Secretary, a position in C ...

contributed funds for its restoration.

World War II

The invading

Soviets Soviet people ( rus, сове́тский наро́д, r=sovyétsky naród), or citizens of the USSR ( rus, гра́ждане СССР, grázhdanye SSSR), was an umbrella demonym for the population of the Soviet Union. Nationality policy in th ...

annexed the city to the

Ukrainian SSR The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic ( uk, Украї́нська Радя́нська Соціалісти́чна Респу́бліка, ; russian: Украи́нская Сове́тская Социалисти́ческая Респ ...

in 1939 along with the entire region. After the German attack on the Soviet Union in 1941, Lutsk (german: Luzk) became the sight of a pogrom organized by the

Ukrainian People's Militia Ukrainian People's Militsiya or the Ukrainian National Militsiya ( uk, Українська Народна Міліція), was a paramilitary formation created by the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) in the General Government territory ...

and the synagogue along with the Jewish district were set on fire.YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe
Lutsk.
Following the Soviet liberation in February 1944, only about 150 Jews returned. By 1959, just 600 Jews were living in Lutsk. The fortified synagogue was turned into a movie theater and later into a sports hall. A residential area was constructed on the site of the Rabbinite and Karaite cemeteries. In December 1941 the

Lutsk Ghetto The Lutsk Ghetto ( pl, getto w Łucku, german: Ghetto Luzk) was a Nazi ghetto established in 1941 by the SS in Lutsk, Western Ukraine, during World War II. In the interwar period, the city was known as Łuck and was part of the Wołyń Voivodesh ...

was established. In August and September 1942, about 17,000 prisoners of the ghetto were killed by

Order Police battalions The Order Police battalions were militarised formations of the German Order Police (uniformed police) during the Nazi era. During World War II, they were subordinated to the SS and deployed in German-occupied areas, specifically the Army Group ...

. The ghetto was liquidated in December 1942. The former main synagogue building stood empty. Many years after the war it was reconstructed as a movie-house and a gym.Dr Pawel Goldstein
Lutsk (Luck) Ghetto.
Geni.com. Retrieved 23 July 2015.

Architecture

Some researchers and museums have investigated the history of the synagogue. The

Nahum Goldmann Nahum Goldmann ( he, נחום גולדמן) (July 10, 1895 – August 29, 1982) was a leading Zionist. He was a founder of the World Jewish Congress and its president from 1951 to 1978, and was also president of the World Zionist Organization from ...

Museum of the Jewish Diaspora

Beth Hatefutsoth ANU - Museum of the Jewish People, formerly the Nahum Goldmann Museum of the Jewish Diaspora, is located in Tel Aviv, Israel, at the center of the Tel Aviv University campus in Ramat Aviv. ANU - Museum of the Jewish People is an institution ...

located on the

Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) ( he, אוּנִיבֶרְסִיטַת תֵּל אָבִיב, ''Universitat Tel Aviv'') is a public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Locate ...

campus has a model of synagogue. The model reveals architectural details which were lost during the World Wars. The Center for Jewish Art in the

Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Dr. Chaim Weiz ...

created a 3D-model of the exterior and interior. On 30 May 1995, a

commemorative plaque A commemorative plaque, or simply plaque, or in other places referred to as a historical marker, historic marker, or historic plaque, is a plate of metal, ceramic, stone, wood, or other material, typically attached to a wall, stone, or other ...

dedicated to the lost Jews was erected on the synagogue wall. The former synagogue is a cube-shaped building with a tower. Rational clarity, brevity, and restraint in decoration contribute to its Renaissance style. No individual feature of the synagogue reveals the building's religious character owing to the public functions of old synagogues. There are unexplored

dungeon A dungeon is a room or cell in which prisoners are held, especially underground. Dungeons are generally associated with medieval castles, though their association with torture probably belongs more to the Renaissance period. An oubliette (from ...

s under the building.

Gallery

File:ЛуцькСинагогаРуй.jpg, Wartime destruction Image:ЛуцькСинагогаПлан.jpg, Plan of the Synagogue File:ЛуцькСинагогаВис.jpg, Synagogue (background) and

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

roof today File:ЛуцькСинагогаЗнак.jpg, Plaque File:ЛуцькГалСин.jpg, Synagogue today

References

The Great Synagogue of Lutsk by Haim F. Ghiuzeli , The Museum of the Jewish People at Beit Hatfutsot

CJA Documentation of Synagogue in Lutsk, Ukraine
* Метельницький Р. Деякі сторінки єврейської забудови Луцька, К.: Дух і літера, 2001, с.85-133 * Grzegorz Rąkowski, ''Przewodnik po Zachodniej Ukrainie'', część I, Wołyń * Adam Wojnicz. Łuck na Wołyniu. Łuck, 1922, s. 39-42 * Stecki T. Łuck starożytny i dziesiejszy. Kraków, 1876, s. 219 * Majer Bałaban. Karaici w Polsce. V. Łuck //Nowe Życie, Warszawa, 1924, No. 3, s.323 * Zbigniew Rewski. Z zabytków Wołynia // Znicz, 1936, No. 6, s.85-86 Kraszyńska Fanny. Żydzi Łuccy do końca XVII w. // Rocznik Wołyński. T. VII. Równe, 1938, s.139-178

External links

The Great Synagogue of Lutsk, Ukraine , The Museum of the Jewish People at Beit Hatfutsot
{{coord, 50.735959, N, 25.318699, E, region:UA_type:landmark_source:dewiki, display=title Buildings and structures in Lutsk Synagogues in Ukraine Former synagogues in Ukraine Renaissance architecture in Ukraine Fortress synagogues Jewish Ukrainian history 17th-century synagogues