Slonim Synagogue


The Great Synagogue of Slonim or simply the Slonim Synagogue is a 17th-century baroque former synagogue building in Slonim, Belarus.

History

The synagogue was the main religious building of Slonim's then numerous and influential Jewish community. The building was erected in 1642 and was initially part of the town's fortifications system.
In 1881 the synagogue was heavily damaged in a fire.
During the Second World War, almost the entire Jewish population of Slonim was murdered by the Nazis in the Holocaust. The building was left untouched by the German Luftwaffe during World War II, but has subsequently deteriorated. After the war, the Communist administration used the building as a furniture warehouse.
In 2001, after the restoration of the independence of Belarus, the building was returned to the Belarusian Jewish community.

Current state

The synagogue is standing but in a dilapidated condition. It is listed by the private World Monuments Fund as their top priority site of Jewish interest in Eastern Europe that requires restoration. British TV personality Natasha Kaplinsky was the subject of one of a series of BBC television programmes, Who Do You Think You Are?. Kaplinsky visited the synagogue, it having been the place of worship of her great-grandparents. Her cousin sang a lament in Hebrew in the synagogue.

Restoration project

Under Kaplinsky's initiative, a steering group has been established under the auspices of the Foundation for Jewish Heritage to restore the Slonim Synagogue and to make it a “major educational facility, cross-cultural meeting place, memorial, place of worship, and a cultural centre ensuring that the Great Synagogue has a sustainable future”. The steering group includes Britons and Americans with family links to the Jewish community of Slonim and the architect Tszwai So.

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