The Great Synagogue of Constanța is a disused former
Ashkenazi
Ashkenazi Jews ( ; he, יְהוּדֵי אַשְׁכְּנַז, translit=Yehudei Ashkenaz, ; yi, אַשכּנזישע ייִדן, Ashkenazishe Yidn), also known as Ashkenazic Jews or ''Ashkenazim'',, Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: , singu ...
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 ...
”for the Jews called « Polish »”,
located at 2 C. A. Rosetti Street, corner with Petru Rareş Street in the city of
Constanța
Constanța (, ; ; rup, Custantsa; bg, Кюстенджа, Kyustendzha, or bg, Констанца, Konstantsa, label=none; el, Κωνστάντζα, Kōnstántza, or el, Κωνστάντια, Kōnstántia, label=none; tr, Köstence), histo ...
,
Romania.
The synagogue was built between 1910 and 1914 in a
Moorish Revival architectural style on the site of an earlier synagogue, erected in 1867/1872, in the
place of an older synagogue, built after a firman of Sultan Abdul Azis.
The first steps were initiated in 1907, but the original building application submitted in 1908 was denied due to concerns about the strength of the proposed
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 ...
and galleries.
Architect Anghel Păunescu thus replaced the proposed dome with a semi-cylindrical
vault intended to express the same "seduction of the curved space".
In the interwar period, there had been two main synagogues in Constanța: there was also a
Sephardic Temple, built between 1905 and 1908 in a
Catalan Gothic Catalan Gothic is an artistic style, with particular characteristics in the field of architecture. It occurred under the Crown of Aragon between the 13th and 15th centuries, which places it at the end of the European Gothic period and at the begin ...
architectural style,
The sephardic synagogue was heavily damaged during the
Second World War when it was used as an ammunition warehouse, later further damaged by an earthquake, and was demolished in 1989 under the rule of
Nicolae Ceaușescu.
Condition
As the Jewish population in Constanța declined, the synagogue fell into disuse. Photographs show the synagogue was still in use - and in good repair - as recently as 1996, but once abandoned, the building had been "ransacked of anything not nailed down".
The structure of the building is still standing, but is in an advanced state of degradation and is in danger of collapsing.
Only three of the four walls are intact, and the roof has partially collapsed.
A tree grows in the middle of the sanctuary
and most of the stained glass windows have been smashed.
Journalists Florin Anghel and Cristian Andrei Leonte blamed local officials and popular opinion for allowing the building to "crumble to the point of collapse",
noting that synagogues in other cities were "splendidly renovated and converted into
cultural centres or
exhibition halls."
Aurel Vainer
Aurel Vainer (10 January 1932 – 31 October 2021) was a Romanian economist and politician. He was a leader of the Romanian Jewish community, and also the vice president of the Romanian Chamber of Commerce.
Vainer was elected leader of the Jew ...
, president of the
Federation of the Jewish Communities in Romania, blamed lack of interest for the deterioration of the synagogue.
In November 2014, a team of architects from
Bucharest were hired to inspect the building, assess the necessary repairs and estimate costs.
Architecture
The synagogue has three levels. The exterior doors and windows display a
Moorish
The term Moor, derived from the ancient Mauri, is an exonym first used by Christian Europeans to designate the Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages.
Moors are not a distinct or se ...
influence. Inside, the worship area is divided into three naves with traditional Jewish decorations.
CIMEC - Sinagoga Mare din Constanța
/ref>
See also
* History of the Jews in Romania
* List of synagogues in Romania
This list of synagogues in Romania contains active, otherwise used and destroyed synagogues in Romania. The list of Romanian synagogues is not necessarily complete, as only a negligible number of sources testify to the existence of some synagog ...
References
External links
Sinagoga Mare din Constanța pe situl Biserici.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Great Synagogue (Constanta)
Ashkenazi Jewish culture in Romania
Ashkenazi synagogues
Synagogues in Romania
Buildings and structures in Constanța
Synagogues completed in 1911
1911 establishments in Romania
Gothic Revival synagogues
Former synagogues
Polish-Jewish diaspora