The Cold Synagogue (, ) was a
Jewish
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
synagogue
A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...
located on what is now
Niamiha Street
Niamiha Street (also Nyamiha, Nemiga; ; ) is a street named after the river of the same name in central Minsk, Belarus. From the 1960s to the 2010s, the street was completely reconstructed losing all but one original building on it.
History and ...
, in the center of
Minsk
Minsk (, ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administra ...
,
Belarus
Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...
. It was not used as a place of study and therefore was not heated, which is why it received the name "Cold".
The masonry synagogue was considered the oldest in Minsk.
History
The building was erected in 1570, though it is assumed that it housed an Orthodox church,
and only in 1796 the building was bought by the Jewish community, rebuilt and renovated. However, in architectural terms, this structure was originally characteristic of synagogues of that era.
The building was in the
Romanesque style
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of medieval Europe that was predominant in the 11th and 12th centuries. The style eventually developed into the Gothic style with the shape of the arches providing a simple distinction: the Ro ...
.
[Natallia Linitskaya, "Society and Space in (Post-)Socialist Cities: Directions in Research" in ''Materializing Identities in Socialist and Post-socialist Cities'' (eds Jaroslav Ira & Jiří Janáč: ]Karolinum Press
Karolinum Press is the university press of Charles University in Prague. It was established in 1990, and it has published over 5000 titles since then. Its English-language books are distributed globally by University of Chicago Press, and its e-b ...
, 2017), p. 54.
In 1930, the synagogue was closed.
In 1944, after the
liberation of Minsk from the German occupation, the synagogue was again handed over to believing Jews for a short time.
In 1965, the synagogue, although a protected monument, was demolished on the order of
Petr Masherov, the leader of
Soviet Byelorussia.
[Vladimir Levin, "Jewish Cultural Heritage in the USSR and after Its Collapse" in ''Becoming Post-Communist: Jews and the New Political Cultures of Russia and Eastern Europe'' (ed. Eli Lederhendler: Oxford University Press, 2023), p. 97.] The destruction occurred as part of the reconstruction of this district of Minsk.
The destruction was attributable both to
state antisemitism in Soviet Union as well as a more general disregard by Soviet authorities in 1950s and 1960s for
historic preservation
Historic preservation (US), built heritage preservation or built heritage conservation (UK) is an endeavor that seeks to preserve, conserve and protect buildings, objects, landscapes or other artifacts of historical significance. It is a philos ...
:
[ much of Old Town Minsk was destroyed in the 1960s reconstruction of Minsk in a socialist urban style.][ The old synagogue building was next to the planned site for the Belarusian State Institute for Industrial Design.][
]
Gallery
Miensk, Chałodnaja synagoga. Менск, Халодная сынагога (1881) (5).jpg, Cross-section, 1881
Miensk, Chałodnaja synagoga. Менск, Халодная сынагога (1881).jpg, Detailed plans, 1881
Minsk - synagogue (Kholodnaya) - Ground floor plan.jpg, Ground floor plan, made in 1954 during the reconstruction
Miensk, Chałodnaja synagoga. Менск, Халодная сынагога (1901-18).jpg, Photo made between 1901-1918
Miensk, Niamiha-Školnaja. Менск, Няміга-Школьная (1941).jpg, Aerial photo of the district with the synagogue at its center, 1941
Холодная синагога в Минске, 1960е.jpg, The synagogue near the newly built Institute, 1960s
See also
* Cold Synagogue, Mogilev
*
References
External links
About the synagogue and the neighbouring district, with photos
(in Belarusian)
{{Jewish Belarusian history, state=collapsed
1570 establishments in Belarus
1965 disestablishments in Belarus
16th-century synagogues in Europe
20th-century attacks on Jewish institutions
Antisemitism in the Soviet Union
Buildings and structures demolished in 1965
Buildings and structures in Minsk
Churches completed in 1570
Demolished buildings and structures in Belarus
Former churches in Belarus
Former synagogues in Belarus
Romanesque architecture in Belarus
Romanesque and Gothic synagogues
Synagogues completed in 1796