The Monastir Synagogue ( he, קהל קדוש מונאסטירליס, Judeo-Spanish "Kal de los Monastirlis") is a historic

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 wor ...

of the once vibrant

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...

ish community in

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...

History

The construction of the synagogue lasted from 1925 till 1927. The funding was due to Jews from Monastir in the

Kingdom of Yugoslavia The Kingdom of Yugoslavia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Kraljevina Jugoslavija, Краљевина Југославија; sl, Kraljevina Jugoslavija) was a state in Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 191 ...

, chiefly by Ida Aroesti, in the memory of her late husband Isaac, and the families Camhi, Joseph Nahmias, Massot, Barouch, Halevi, Israel, Calderon, Faradji, and Meir. The synagogue was designed by architect Ernst Loewy (1878-1943) from the city Buchau of Austria-Hungary. He was based in Karlsbad of Czechoslovakia, visiting Thessaloniki often as the engineer for the Austrian Company that built that railway line between Thessaloniki and Vienna. Loewy moved to Thessaloniki in 1938. The consecration by the locum tenens Chief Rabbi of Thessaloniki, Haim Raphael Habib, took place on the 27th Eloul, 5687 (September, 24th, 1927). These families have fled Monastir during the

Balkan Wars The Balkan Wars refers to a series of two conflicts that took place in the Balkan States in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan States of Greece, Serbia, Montenegro and Bulgaria declared war upon the Ottoman Empire and def ...

(1912-1913) and

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

(1914-1918) and established themselves in Thessaloniki creating their own kehila (community) within the greater Jewish Community. The Monastir synagogue is the last traditional synagogue of Thessaloniki in the great tradition of Salonican synagogues bearing in their name the place of origin of the congregation members (Ashkenaz 1376, Majorka 1391, Provincia 1394, Italia Yashan 1423, Guerush Sefarad 1492, Kastilia 1492–3, Aragon 1492–3, Katalan Yashan 1492, Kalabria Yashan 1497, Sicilia Yashan 1497, Apulia 1502, Lisbon Yashan 1510. Portugal 1525, Evora 1535, Lisbon Hadash 1536, Otranto 1537, Ishmael 1537, Sicilia Hadash 1562, Italia Hadash 1582, Majorka Sheni 16th cent., Katalan Hadash 16th cent., Italia Sheni, 1606, Mograbis 17th cent.) During

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, the synagogue was saved by being requisitioned by the

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...

. In June 1978, the structure of the building was severely damaged by an earthquake. It was restored by the Greek government and today is used primarily during the high holidays. In 2016 the historic restoration of the synagogue was completed by architect Elias Messinas and KARD Architects - Dimitris Raidis and Alexandros Kouloukouris.Messinas, Elias. (2022).''The Synagogues of Greece: A Study of Synagogues in Macedonia and Thrace: With Architectural Drawings of all Synagogues of Greece''. Seattle: KDP , 73. The restoration project was supported by the Federal Republic of Germany. The synagogue is no longer in regular function. There is a new one shared with the Rabbinate and the offices of the Jewish Community of Thessaloniki at Tsimiski Street downtown. The Jewish museum is also near this new location.

References

Synagogues in Greece Buildings and structures in Thessaloniki Jews and Judaism in Thessaloniki Greece–North Macedonia relations Synagogues completed in 1927 1927 establishments in Greece {{greece-synagogue-stub

History

See also

References