Slonim Synagogue

Slonim Synagogue
Slonim Synagogue
Religion
Affiliation	Judaism
Leadership	Ioanna Reeves
Status	charity foundation
Location
Location	Slonim, Belarus
Geographic coordinates	53°5′36.57″N 25°19′3.33″E / 53.0934917°N 25.3175917°E
Architecture
Type	Synagogue
Style	Baroque
Completed	1648
Direction of façade	East
Website
	https://savingheritage.com

The Great Synagogue in Slonim (Belarusian: Вялікая сінагога Слоніма) or simply the Slonim Synagogue (Belarusian: Слонімская сінагога) 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.^[1]

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. Late December 2020 the individual from Minsk has bought the synagogue at the auction and opened the Saving Heritage foundation https://savingheritage.com/ to help the Great synagogue in Slonim to survive.

Restoration project[]

Under an initiative of the Kaplinsky family, a steering group for the conservation of the synagogue was established through the 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”.^[2] The steering group includes Britons and Americans with family links to the Jewish community of Slonim and the architect Tszwai So.^[3] On 29 December 2020 the Synagogue was sold at public auction to a writer and musician Ilona Ioanna Reeves. ^[4]