Great Synagogue (Iași)

Great Synagogue of Iași
Romanian: Sinagoga Mare din Iași
The synagogue, in 2002
Religion
Affiliation	Judaism
Rite	Nusach Ashkenaz
Ecclesiastical or organisational status	Synagogue
Status	Active
Location
Location	1 Sinagogilor Street, Iași, Iași County, Western Moldavia
Country	Romania
Location of the synagogue in Romania
Geographic coordinates	47°09′56″N 27°35′32″E / 47.16556°N 27.59222°E / 47.16556; 27.59222
Architecture
Type	Synagogue architecture
Style	Baroque
Date established	c. 1650 (as a congregation)
Groundbreaking	1657
Completed	Original: 1671 Rebuilt/restored: 1761, 1822, 1863, 1977 (after earthquake), 2018
Specifications
Dome(s)	One
Dome height (inner)	9.8 metres (32 ft)
Materials	Brick
Monument istoric
Official name	Iași: Sinagoga Mare
Type	Monumente de arhitectură
Designated	sec. XVIII
Reference no.	IS-II-m-B-04057
[1][2][3]

The Great Synagogue of Iași (Romanian: Sinagoga Mare din Iași) is a Jewish congregation and synagogue, located at 1 Sinagogilor Street, in Iași, in the Iași County, of Western Moldavia, Romania. The synagogue was completed in 1671 in the Baroque style,^[1] and it is the oldest surviving synagogue in Romania.^[4]

The synagogue is listed on the National Register of Historic Monuments^[2][5] and in 2014 was included on the watchlist of World Monuments Fund.^[3]

Raised in 1671, the Great Synagogue is a free standing building adjacent to a small garden off Cucu Street (once called Sinagogilor Street for the many synagogues located on it) just north of the city center in the old Jewish neighbourhood of Târgu Cucului. The synagogue underwent major renovations in 1761, 1822 and 1864. It was partly restored in the 1970s and a major restoration took place between 2006 and 2018.^[3][6][7] The Women's Gallery houses a small museum of the Jewish community of Iași.

The building has round-arched windows, and two wings. One wing is two stories high and capped by a barrel-vaulted ceiling. The other is a tall, single-story hall with a 9.8-metre (32 ft) diameter dome capped with a lantern. The dome was added to the building in the early 20th century.^[8]

Of the more than 110 synagogues in Iași before World War II, the Great Synagogue is one of only two which continues to serve the dwindling Jewish community of Iași, following the Holocaust.^[9]

• History of the Jews in Iași
• History of the Jews in Romania
• List of synagogues in Romania

Media related to Great Synagogue in Iași at Wikimedia Commons

• "Great Synagogue of Iaşi". Beit HaTfutsot - The Museum of the Jewish People.
• Svart-Kara, Itic. "Contributions to the History of Jews in Iaşi". JewishGen.
• "The Great Synagogue of Iaşi and Its Aron Kodesh" (slideshow of images of the restoration). World Monuments Watch. World Monuments Fund. 2022. Retrieved August 31, 2024.