AmiePesina at 20:15, 16 September 2025

2025-09-16T20:15:53Z

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{{short description|Orthodox synagogue in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2025}}
{{Infobox religious building
| name = Sarajevo Synagogue
| native_name = {{langx|bs|Синагога у Сарајеву|Sinagoga u Sarajevu}}
| image = Ashkenazi Synagogue Sarajevo.jpg
| image_size =
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| caption = The synagogue in 2022
| religious_affiliation = [[Orthodox Judaism]]
| tradition =
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| deity =
| rite = [[Nusach Ashkenaz]]
| festival = 
| organisational_status = [[Synagogue]]
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| functional_status = Active
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| location = Hamdije Kreševljakovića, 59 Quartier de Drvenjia, [[Sarajevo]]
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| country = [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]]
| map_type = Bosnia and Herzegovina
| map_size = 250
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| map_relief = 1
| map_caption = Location of the synagogue<br/>in [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]]
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| coordinates = {{coord|43.856406822117656|18.425116086469778|type:landmark_region:BA-BIH_source:kolossus-dewiki|display=it|format=dms}}
| coordinates_footnotes =
| heritage_designation =
| architect = [[Karel Pařík]]
| architecture_type = [[Synagogue architecture]]
| architecture_style = [[Moorish Revival architecture|Moorish Revival]]
| founded_by =
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| established = Late 19th-century
| groundbreaking =
| year_completed = 1902
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| dome_quantity = 4
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| module = {{Infobox historic site | embed=yes
| designation1 = kons
| designation1_offname = Ashkenazi synagogue, the historic monument
| designation1_type = Category II cultural property
| designation1_criteria = A, C iii.iv.v., D iii.iv., E i.ii.iii.iv.v, G iii.vi., H i.ii.
| designation1_date = July 6, 2006 <small>(decision No. 07.1-2-126/06-4)</small>
| designation1_partof =
| designation1_number = {{KONS|num=2844|short=y}}
| designation1_free1value = [[List of National Monuments of Bosnia and Herzegovina]]
}}
| footnotes =
}}
The '''Sarajevo Synagogue''' ({{lang-sh-Latn-Cyrl|Sinagoga u Sarajevu|Синагога у Сарајеву}}) is an [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox]] [[Judaism|Jewish]] congregation and [[synagogue]], located on the south bank of the river [[Miljacka]], in [[Sarajevo]], in [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]]. The synagogue was constructed in 1902 and is the only functioning synagogue in Sarajevo today. The congregation worships in the [[Nusach Ashkenaz|Ashkenazi]] [[Nusach (Jewish custom)|rite]].

==History==
{{Main article|History of the Jews in Bosnia and Herzegovina}}
The history of the Jews in Sarajevo dates back over 400 years to 1541 when the first Jewish settlers arrived via [[Salonika]]. These early settlers were primarily artisans, merchants, pharmacists, and doctors. In 1577, with permission from Pasha Siavush, they established their own quarter, known as El Cortijo (the courtyard). In 1580, the community, with the assistance of a Turkish benefactor, built a synagogue in El Cortijo within a building called Velika Avlija. By the end of the 16th century, the structure housing Velika Avlija became known as the Old Jewish Cathedral, Sarajevo's first synagogue. The building burned down in both 1679 and 1778, and was rebuilt each time. It served as a museum but has since been reconsecrated for services.<ref>{{Cite news|date=8 September 2004 |title=After 60 Years, Prayer Returns to Historic Sarajevo Synagogue |url=https://www.jta.org/archive/after-60-years-prayer-returns-to-historic-sarajevo-synagogue |access-date=2024-12-29 |website=[[Jewish Telegraphic Agency]] |language=en-US}}</ref> Next door is the New Synagogue (''Novi Hram'') serving as an art gallery owned by the Jewish community of Sarajevo.

Ashkenazi Jews began arriving in Sarajevo after the [[Austria-Hungary|Austro-Hungarian Empire]] [[Austro-Hungarian campaign in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1878|occupied Bosnia]] in 1878.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Sarajevo Ashkenazi Sinagogue |url=https://imaneo-data.inha.fr/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Notice-synagogue-sarajevo-impression-en-1.pdf |access-date=29 December 2024 |website=IMANEO}}</ref> By the following year, enough Ashkenazim had arrived to form an association; the first Ashkenazi rabbi for the Bosnian community was [[Bernhard Buchwald]].<ref name=":0" />{{Sfn|Friedman|2022|p=245}} Land was purchased in 1893 with the help of H. Levi.{{Sfn|Friedman|2022|p=245}} They began plans to construct their own synagogue in 1895, with the original draft made by the Austrian Jewish architect [[Wilhelm Stiassny]], who had designed synagogues in Vienna and Prague.<ref name=":0" /> Stiassny promoted the Moorish Revival style but his proposal was rejected by the provincial government.<ref name=":0" /> Ultimately, the changes he made at the request of the provincial government were incorporated in the final design by Czech architect [[Karel Pařík]].<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Carmichael |first=Cathie |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_Concise_History_of_Bosnia/rMfSCQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0 |title=A Concise History of Bosnia |date=2015-07-02 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-107-01615-6 |pages=44–45 |language=en}}</ref> The actual work was carried out by the contractor Ludwig Jungwirth, and the interior decoration, including the friezes with rosettes and relief ornaments, was done by Ludwig Oisner.<ref name=":0" /> In 1902, the 4-storey synagogue was dedicated; the Ashkenazi population at this time was approximately 1,400 people.{{Sfn|Friedman|2022|p=245}}

The Sephardic community constructed their own [[Il Kal Grande]] synagogue of 1932, acknowledged as the largest and most ornate synagogues in the [[Balkans]]. It was devastated by the [[Nazis]] in 1941 during World War II, but the Ashkenazi synagogue was able to escape total destruction.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ilg |first=Michael |date=2023-08-02 |title=Synagogue, Workers’ University, Cultural Center |url=https://www.copernico.eu/en/articles/synagogue-workers-university-cultural-center-il-kal-grande-sarajevo |access-date=2024-12-29 |website=Copernico: History and Cultural Heritage in Eastern Europe |language=en}}</ref> The Germans used the synagogue as a stable.<ref name=":0" /> The [[Torah ark]] and the decoration in the lower part of the synagogue was destroyed.<ref name=":0" />

The [[Holocaust]] in the 1940s and the [[Bosnia war|civil war]] during the 1990s left fewer than 5,700 Jews in former [[Yugoslavia]]. The Jewish community, like the entire country, was once defined by its unique combination of eastern and western traditions. Populations of [[Sephardic|Sephardi]] and [[Ashkenazi Jews]] peacefully co-existed with their [[Christians|Christian]] and [[Muslim]] neighbors in [[Sarajevo]] and elsewhere in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In 1964, for the celebration of the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the Jews in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the main prayer room was moved to the upper level, previously the [[Ezrat Nashim|women's galleries]].<ref name=":0" /> A floor was installed to cover the surface of the room, and the ground floor is now used for celebratory and social events such as weddings and [[Bar and bat mitzvah|bar and bat mitzvahs]].<ref name=":0" />

== Architecture ==
The synagogue was designed in the [[Moorish Revival architecture|Moorish Revival]] style.

The synagogue has enormous arches with richly painted decorations. The high, ornate ceiling was highlighted by a ten-pointed star. At the entrance, a stone [[Menorah (Temple)|menorah]] commemorates the 400-year anniversary of the [[Jews]] in [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]].

The building was renovated in the 2000s.

== Gallery ==
<gallery>
Aškenaška sinagoga (14143483781).jpg|Interior view
1914 photo of an Ashkenazic synagogue in Sarajevo.png|The synagogue in 1914 on the banks of the [[Miljacka]]
</gallery>

==See also==
{{stack|{{portal|Judaism|Bosnia and Herzegovina}}}}
* [[Jews in Bosnia and Herzegovina]]
* [[Sarajevo Haggadah]]
* ''[[Il Kal Grande]]'', Sephardi synagogue of Sarajevo

==References==
{{Reflist}}

===Bibliography===
* {{Cite book |last=Friedman |first=Francine |title=Like salt for bread: the Jews of Bosnia and Herzegovina |date=2022 |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-90-04-47104-7 |series=Studia Judaeoslavica |location=Leiden}}

== External links ==
{{Commonscat-inline|Sarajevo Synagogue}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070927235032/http://www.istc.org/sisp/?event_id=106052&fx=event Bosnia and Herzegovina: Ashkenazi Synagogue], ([[International Student Travel Confederation]])

{{Jews and Judaism in Bosnia and Herzegovina}}
{{Sarajevo}}

[[Category:19th-century establishments in Austria-Hungary]]
[[Category:20th-century synagogues in Europe]]
[[Category:Ashkenazi synagogues]]
[[Category:Ashkenazi Jewish culture in Europe]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Sarajevo]]
[[Category:Jewish organizations established in the 19th century]]
[[Category:Moorish Revival synagogues]]
[[Category:Moorish Revival architecture in Bosnia and Herzegovina]]
[[Category:National Monuments of Bosnia and Herzegovina]]
[[Category:Rebuilt buildings and structures in Bosnia and Herzegovina]]
[[Category:Religious buildings and structures in Sarajevo]]
[[Category:Synagogue buildings with domes]]
[[Category:Synagogues completed in 1902]]
[[Category:Synagogues in Bosnia and Herzegovina]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Sarajevo]]

Sarajevo Synagogue - Revision history

AmiePesina at 20:15, 16 September 2025