The Czernowitz Synagogue, also called The Temple of Czernowitz () was a former

Reform Reform refers to the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The modern usage of the word emerged in the late 18th century and is believed to have originated from Christopher Wyvill's Association movement, which ...

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 in

Chernivtsi Chernivtsi (, ; , ;, , see also #Names, other names) is a city in southwestern Ukraine on the upper course of the Prut River. Formerly the capital of the historic region of Bukovina, which is now divided between Romania and Ukraine, Chernivt ...

, in the

Chernivtsi Oblast Chernivtsi Oblast (), also referred to as Chernivechchyna (), is an oblast (province) in western Ukraine, consisting of the northern parts of the historical regions of Bukovina and Bessarabia. It has an international border with Romania and Moldo ...

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

. The synagogue was built in 1873 in what was then called Czernowitz, in the Austrian Hungary Empire. Closed in 1940, the building was repurposed and used as a

movie theater A movie theater (American English) or cinema (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English), also known as a movie house, cinema hall, picture house, picture theater, the movies, the pictures, or simply theater, is a business ...

since 1959.

History

The first known presence of Jews in Czernowitz was in 1408. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the number of Jewish inhabitants increased significantly. The Great Synagogue in Chernivtsi, an

Ashkenazi Ashkenazi Jews ( ; also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim) form a distinct subgroup of the Jewish diaspora, that Ethnogenesis, emerged in the Holy Roman Empire around the end of the first millennium Common era, CE. They traditionally spe ...

congregation, was completed in 1853. In 1872 a split occurred between the Reform and Orthodox communities living in Czernowitz; and the following year the Reform congregation began construction of The Temple of Czernowitz, designed by Julian Zachariewicz in the

Moorish Revival Moorish Revival or Neo-Moorish is one of the exotic revival architectural styles that were adopted by architects of Europe and the Americas in the wake of Romanticism, Romanticist Orientalism. It reached the height of its popularity after the mi ...

style. By 1878 the congregation had reunited and the new synagogue, the most prominent at the time, was used for worshipping. The synagogue was confiscated and closed by the Soviet government after annexing

Northern Bukovina Bukovina or ; ; ; ; , ; see also other languages. is a historical region at the crossroads of Central and Eastern Europe. It is located on the northern slopes of the central Eastern Carpathians and the adjoining plains, today divided betwe ...

and its largest city, Czernowitz, from

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

in 1940. The building was burned by

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

and Romanian soldiers on 5 July 1941, after Nazi-allied Romania retook the city. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

the Soviet authorities tried to blow up the destroyed temple, but the building survived. In 1959, the outer walls were used to partially reconstruct the building for use as a movie theater that was named ('October', in honor of the

October Revolution The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Historiography in the Soviet Union, Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of Russian Revolution, two r ...

). The building lost its dome and retains very little of its former appearance. After the

fall of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of Nationalities, Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. :s: ...

the theater lost its Soviet name and was renamed "Chernivtsi". Joseph Schmidt sang in the choir as a boy and served as cantor as an adult.

Other synagogues in Chernivtsi

On 25 September 2001, a synagogue was opened in Chernivtsi. The Sadovsky Street Synagogue, closed by the Soviet Regime, was renovated, reopened, and also serves the Jewish Community Center.

References

External links

Old Czernowitz Photos. Tempelgasse - Старі фото Чернівців. Вулиця Університетська до Темплю
Edward Tur. * 1872 establishments in Austria-Hungary 19th-century synagogues in Europe Synagogues in Ukraine destroyed by Nazi Germany Buildings and structures in Chernivtsi Bukovina Jews Culture in Chernivtsi Former synagogues in Ukraine Jewish organizations established in 1872 Moorish Revival architecture in Ukraine Moorish Revival synagogues Reform synagogues in Ukraine Synagogue buildings with domes Synagogues completed in 1879 {{Ukraine-synagogue-stub

History

Other synagogues in Chernivtsi

See also

References

External links