, native_name_lang = , image = Cekiskes sinagoga.jpg , image_upright = 1.4 , alt = , caption = The former synagogue in 2016 , religious_affiliation = Judaism , tradition = , sect = , district = , prefecture = , province = , region = , deity = , rite =

Nusach Ashkenaz Nusach Ashkenaz is a style of Jewish liturgy conducted by Ashkenazi Jews. It is primarily a way to order and include prayers, and differs from Nusach Sefard (as used by the Hasidim) and Baladi-rite prayer, and still more from the Sephardic rite p ...

, festival = , organisational_status = , ownership = , governing_body = , leadership = , bhattaraka = , patron = , consecration_year = , functional_status = Abandoned , religious_features_label = , religious_features = , location = 16 Ateities Street,

Čekiškė Čekiškė is a small town in Kaunas County Kaunas County ( lt, Kauno apskritis) is one of ten counties of Lithuania The territory of Lithuania is divided into 10 counties ( Lithuanian: singular ''apskritis'', plural ''apskritys''), al ...

Kaunas District Municipality Kaunas District Municipality (''Kauno rajono savivaldybė'') is one of 60 municipalities in Lithuania. The seat of the municipality is the city of Kaunas, which does not belong to the municipality but is a separate administrative unit. It surroun ...

, locale = , municipality = , cercle = , state = , country =

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

, map_type = Lithuania , map_size = 250 , map_alt = , map_relief = 1 , map_caption = Location of the former synagogue in

, grid_name = , grid_position = , sector = , territory = , administration = , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , heritage_designation = , architect = , architecture_type =

Synagogue architecture Synagogue architecture often follows styles in vogue at the place and time of construction. There is no set blueprint for synagogues and the architectural shapes and interior designs of synagogues vary greatly. According to tradition, the Divi ...

, architecture_style = Historicist , founded_by = , creator = , funded_by = , general_contractor = , established = , groundbreaking = , year_completed = 1887 , construction_cost = , date_destroyed = , facade_direction = , capacity = , length = , width = , width_nave = , interior_area = , height_max = , dome_quantity = , dome_height_outer = , dome_height_inner = , dome_dia_outer = , dome_dia_inner = , minaret_quantity = , minaret_height = , spire_quantity = , spire_height = , site_area = , temple_quantity = , monument_quantity = , shrine_quantity = , inscriptions = , materials = Brick , elevation_m = , elevation_footnotes = , nrhp = , designated = , added = , refnum = , delisted1_date = , website = , module = , footnotes = The Synagogue of Čekiškė ( lt, Čekiškės sinagoga) is a former Jewish congregation and

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 ...

, located at 16 Ateities Street, in

, in the

. Designed in the Historicist style, the building was completed in 1887 and operated as a synagogue until it was devastated by

Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...

in 1941. Subsequently used for profane purposes, the building was restored during 2023.

Structure

The synagogue is an unplastered, red brick structure. It has two main volumes, and is covered with a gable roof of asbestos sheets laid on top of old shingles. The synagogue has a rectangular footprint. It consists of a spacious prayer hall on the eastern side and a two-story western volume, the ground floor of which houses a vestibule and one small room, and the upper floor was the women's section. The main entrance to the synagogue is situated on the southern façade. An outer wooden staircase leading to the women's section was most likely attached to the western façade. Foundations of some later annexes can be traced westwards from the today's western wall. The synagogue's exterior has been mostly preserved. The interior is divided by brick walls into the eastern prayer hall and two western rooms, above which the women's section was situated. The northwestern room apparently served as a small prayer and study room, since there is a niche with a protruding wooden frame in its eastern wall that looks like a small Torah ark.

History

On July 22, 1887, a fire destroyed the majority of the infrastructure of Čekiškė, with only three buildings remaining. The majority of the population at the time were Jewish families. After the fire, the Synagogue of Čekiškė was rebuilt and remained unchanged to this day, although it is no longer in use. After WWII, the synagogue was abandoned for a long time. During occupation by Soviet Union the building was converted into a kolkhoz granary. In 2010 the building has been listed as regional monument of cultural heritage. In 2020, a project to renovate the synagogue was decided by the Jewish community of Kaunas, joined by the Municipality of Kaunas. The restoration of the exterior parts of the synagogue was completed during the summer of 2023.

References

External links

19th-century synagogues in Lithuania Ashkenazi Jewish culture in Lithuania Ashkenazi synagogues Buildings and structures in Kaunas County

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 ...

Former synagogues in Lithuania Historicist architecture {{Lithuania-synagogue-stub

Structure

History

See also

References

External links