The Great Synagogue of Brody, also known as the Old Fortress Synagogue, was the main

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 ...

of the Jewish community in

Brody Brody ( uk, Броди; russian: Броды, Brodï; pl, Brody; german: Brody; yi, בראָד, Brod) is a city in Zolochiv Raion of Lviv Oblast (province) of western Ukraine. It is located in the valley of the upper Styr River, approximately ...

. Constructed in the mid-18th century, the building was significantly damaged by the Nazis in 1943, and has since fallen into disrepair.

History

On the site of the Great Synagogue was originally a wooden synagogue, which was destroyed in a fire in 1696. In its place the large stone

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 invasions ...

was built, starting in 1742. It was damaged in a fire which destroyed most of Brody in 1859. Repairs began at the beginning of the next century, and in 1935 it was registered as a cultural monument and renovated. The Great Synagogue held a large collection of

Jewish ceremonial art Jewish ceremonial art, also known as Judaica (), refers to an array of objects used by Jews for ritual purposes. Because enhancing a mitzvah by performing it with an especially beautiful object is considered a praiseworthy way of honoring God's ...

, and its interior was richly decorated.

References

{{Authority control 18th-century synagogues Ashkenazi synagogues Brody Former synagogues in Ukraine Fortress synagogues Orthodox synagogues in Ukraine Renaissance architecture in Ukraine Renaissance synagogues Synagogues destroyed by Nazi Germany

History

See also

References