Lendava Synagogue
Encyclopedia
The Lendava Synagogue constitute the most important Jewish monuments in Slovenia along with those in Maribor
, Ptuj
, Ljubljana
and Nova Gorica
. The former synagogue
and current museum is located in a small town Lendava
, Slovenia, close to the Hungarian border dominated by a hilltop castle. It was built in the 18th century and today has a permanent exhibition of History of Jews in Lendava. Near the synagogue was a former Jewish school, which functioned until the 1920s and was demolished in the end of the 1990s to allow the construction of the Hungarian cultural centre, and a cemetery with 176 tombstones, about 40 from the second half of the 19th century, most of the rest from the 20th century near the village of Dolga Vas, just outside town.
in 1773. Local Jews
at the end of the 18th century gathered to pray at the home of the innkeeper Bodog Weisz. In 1837, the community rented a house for use as a prayer hall, which had 50 seats. In 1843, the community rented and then purchased another building, which was their first real synagogue.
Construction on a new synagogue began in 1866, and this building still stands in the center of town at Spodnja ulica 5. It is a boxy, rectangular brick structure with a peaked roof. The corners are decorated with slightly raised, flat false pilasters. Heavily damaged by the Germans, the building was sold to the town after the 2nd war by the Jewish Federation of Yugoslavia and was used as a warehouse.
Work began in 1994 to renovate the synagogue for use as a culture center which will also have an exhibition on local Jewish history in the women's gallery. The only original interior decorative elements remaining in the building are six fluted cast iron pillars supporting a rebuilt gallery, plus stairway railings and a small niche in the stairwell. The one-time circular (rose) window over the Ark has been changed into an arched window, and two of the arched side windows (which exist on the south side only) have been lengthened and enlarged. The third (left hand) window on the south side has been left at apparently its original shape and size. There is also an arched window over the door in the West side.
Maribor
Maribor is the second largest city in Slovenia with 157,947 inhabitants . Maribor is also the largest and the capital city of Slovenian region Lower Styria and the seat of the Municipality of Maribor....
, Ptuj
Ptuj
Ptuj is a city and one of 11 urban municipalities in Slovenia. Traditionally the area was part of the Lower Styria region. The municipality is now included in the Podravje statistical region...
, Ljubljana
Ljubljana
Ljubljana is the capital of Slovenia and its largest city. It is the centre of the City Municipality of Ljubljana. It is located in the centre of the country in the Ljubljana Basin, and is a mid-sized city of some 270,000 inhabitants...
and Nova Gorica
Nova Gorica
Nova Gorica ; 21,082 ; 31,000 ) is a town and a municipality in western Slovenia, on the border with Italy...
. The former synagogue
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
and current museum is located in a small town Lendava
Lendava
Lendava is a town and a municipality in Slovenia in the region of Prekmurje. It is close to the border crossing with Hungary at Dolga vas-Rédics, and Hungarian is one of the official languages of the municipality, along with Slovene...
, Slovenia, close to the Hungarian border dominated by a hilltop castle. It was built in the 18th century and today has a permanent exhibition of History of Jews in Lendava. Near the synagogue was a former Jewish school, which functioned until the 1920s and was demolished in the end of the 1990s to allow the construction of the Hungarian cultural centre, and a cemetery with 176 tombstones, about 40 from the second half of the 19th century, most of the rest from the 20th century near the village of Dolga Vas, just outside town.
History
Jews from Hungary settled in LendavaLendava
Lendava is a town and a municipality in Slovenia in the region of Prekmurje. It is close to the border crossing with Hungary at Dolga vas-Rédics, and Hungarian is one of the official languages of the municipality, along with Slovene...
in 1773. Local Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
at the end of the 18th century gathered to pray at the home of the innkeeper Bodog Weisz. In 1837, the community rented a house for use as a prayer hall, which had 50 seats. In 1843, the community rented and then purchased another building, which was their first real synagogue.
Construction on a new synagogue began in 1866, and this building still stands in the center of town at Spodnja ulica 5. It is a boxy, rectangular brick structure with a peaked roof. The corners are decorated with slightly raised, flat false pilasters. Heavily damaged by the Germans, the building was sold to the town after the 2nd war by the Jewish Federation of Yugoslavia and was used as a warehouse.
Work began in 1994 to renovate the synagogue for use as a culture center which will also have an exhibition on local Jewish history in the women's gallery. The only original interior decorative elements remaining in the building are six fluted cast iron pillars supporting a rebuilt gallery, plus stairway railings and a small niche in the stairwell. The one-time circular (rose) window over the Ark has been changed into an arched window, and two of the arched side windows (which exist on the south side only) have been lengthened and enlarged. The third (left hand) window on the south side has been left at apparently its original shape and size. There is also an arched window over the door in the West side.
See also
- History of the Jews in SloveniaHistory of the Jews in SloveniaThe small Jewish community of Slovenia is estimated at 400 to 600 members , with most living in the capital, Ljubljana. The Jewish community was devastated by the Shoah, and has never fully recovered...
- Maribor SynagogueMaribor SynagogueThe Maribor Synagogue is a former synagogue and current museum in the city of Maribor, Slovenia. Located in what was the center of the medieval Maribor ghetto at 4 Židovska ulica , it is one of the oldest preserved synagogues in Europe, and one of two only left in Slovenia...
- Ptuj Synagogue
- Ljubljana Synagogue