Great Choral Synagogue (Kiev)


The Great Choral Synagogue of Kiev, also known as the Podil Synagogue or the Rozenberg Synagogue, is the oldest synagogue in Kiev, Ukraine. It is situated in Podil, a historic neighborhood of Kyiv, and is under the leadership of Rabbi Bleich, chief rabbi of Ukraine.

History

The Aesopian synagogue was built in 1895. It was designed in Neo-Moorish style by Nikolay Gordenin. Gabriel Yakob Rozenberg, a merchant, financed the building. In 1915 the building was reconstructed by Valerian Rykov. The reconstruction was financed by Vladimir Ginzburg, a nephew of Rozenberg.
In 1929, the synagogue was closed. During the German occupation of Kyiv in World War II, the Nazis converted the building into a horse stable.
Since 1945, the building has again been used as a synagogue. In 1992, Yaakov Bleich was appointed rabbi of the Jewish community of Kyiv and chief rabbi of Ukraine.

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