Historic synagogues include synagogues that date back to ancient times and synagogues that represent the earliest Jewish presence in cities around the world. Some synagogues were destroyed and rebuilt several times on the same site. Others were converted into churches and mosques or used for other purposes.
Evidence of synagogues from the 3rd century BC was discovered on Elephantine island. The findings consist of two synagogue dedication inscription stones and a reference to a synagogue in a papyrus letter dated to 218 BC.[1][2]
The oldest synagogue building uncovered by archaeologists is the Delos Synagogue, a possibly Samaritan synagogue that dates from at 150 to 128 BC, or earlier, and is located on the island of Delos, Greece.[3][4] However, it is uncertain if the building is actually a synagogue and that designation is generally considered untenable.[5]
The excavated Jericho synagogue has been cited as the oldest mainstream Jewish synagogue in the world, although identification of the remains as a synagogue is not certain. It was built between 70 and 50 BC as part of a royal winter palace complex near Jericho.[6]
El Ghriba SynagogueinDjerba, Tunisia is said to have been built in 586 BC or 70 AD, which would make it the oldest synagogue still standing and in continuous use in the world.[7][8] Two of the claimants to be the oldest synagogue structures still standing are the Old SynagogueinErfurt, Germany, which was built c. 1100[9][10] and the Synagogue of Santa María la BlancainToledo, Spain, which was built in 1190. However, neither has been used as a synagogue for centuries.
The oldest active synagogue in Europe is the Old New SynagogueofPrague in the Czech Republic, built in the 1270s. The Ben Ezra SynagogueofCairo is the longest-serving synagogue in the world, having continuously served as one from 1025 AD until the mid 20th century. Owing to the migration of nearly all of Egypt's Jews to Israel, the building is no longer used as a synagogue, but instead has been renovated and preserved as a museum.
Synagogue of Tlemcen was built around 1392. When Rabbi Ephraim Alnaqua, a Spanish refugee who was the son of the author of Menorath HaMaor, settled in Agadir, he obtained permission for Jews to settle in the city of Tlemcen, where he built a synagogue.
Stone synagogue dedication inscriptions stones found in middle and lower Egypt (see above), and dating from the 3rd century BC, are the oldest synagogue fragments found anywhere in the World.
The Gardens Shul, established 1841, is the oldest congregation in South Africa. Its 1863 building, which is still standing, may be the oldest synagogue building in the country. Rabbi Osher Feldman is the Rabbi of the Gardens Shul.
El Ghriba synagogue, according to legend, the construction of the synagogue goes back to the High Priests' escape following the destruction of Solomon's Temple by the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar II in the year 586 BC (or, alternately, the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 AD). The High Priests carried with them a door and a stone of the destroyed Temple. Thus the synagogue links the Jewish diaspora to the "sole sanctuary of Judaism."[8] In modern times, the local Jews are distinguished by their dress, which includes a black band around their pants, which signifies the destruction of the Temple.[13]
The oldest of India's synagogue buildings can be found in the state of Kerala, where synagogue construction began during the medieval period. Whereas Kerala's first Jewish houses of prayer said to be from the eleventh through the 13th centuries perished long ago as a consequence of natural disasters, enemy attacks, or the abandonment of buildings when congregations shifted. These extant synagogues, though altered over time, include not only the oldest found on the Indian subcontinent but in the British Commonwealth.
The consensus among historians based on a compilation of limited recorded history and a mélange of oral narratives is that first synagogues in Kerala were not built until the medieval period. Various Kerala Jews and the scholars who have studied the community believe that the earliest synagogues in the region date to the early 11th century. According to a narrative, a Kerala Jew by the name of Joseph Rabban who accepted on behalf of his community copper plates granting the local Jews a set of privileges by the Hindu King Bhaskara Ravi Varman was also given wood by his Highness for the erection of a synagogue around 1000. While no physical evidence of this and any other similar period building survives, study of the literature, Jewish folksongs, and narratives supports the notion that synagogues likely stood in Malabar Coast towns, places now within the modern-day State of Kerala, from this epoch. A portion of these medieval-period buildings perished when the Kerala Jews had to leave them behind under the threat of persecution by the Moors and the Portuguese or as a result of natural disasters. The balance was rebuilt as a consequence of naturally occurring or intentionally set fires, modernization efforts, or assorted other variables.[15]
The Kochangadi Synagogue (1344 to 1789 AD) in Kochi in the Kerala, built by the Malabar Jews. It was destroyed by Tipu Sultan in 1789 AD and was never rebuilt. An inscription tablet from this synagogue is the oldest relic from any synagogue in India.
The Paravur Synagogue (750 or 1164 AD) in ParavurinKochi, Kerala, built by the Malabari Jews, operating as a Kerala Jews' Lifestyle Museum, the present 1616 AD structure was built on top of an older structure whose foundation remains were unearthed and are kept on display.
The Paradesi Synagogue (1568 AD) in Kochi, Kerala. It is the oldest Jewish synagogue in India that is still in active use and the most complete, although there are even older ones still existing but not in active use anymore. The synagogue belongs to the Paradesi Jews.
A rabbi in the American army found an abandoned, dilapidated synagogue near Mosul dating back to the 13th century.[16] It is located 3.2 km (2 mi) northeast of Mosul, across the Tigris River, in a city called Nineveh, the city to which the prophet Jonah was sent to preach repentance. The Nineveh Synagogue was constructed by Daud Ibn Hodaya al-Daudi, Exilarch of Mosul. There is record of a second synagogue in Mosul, as early as 990, when the GaonofSura, Semah ibn Yitzhak,[17] mentions "Sahl Aluf ibn Aluf our representative in Mosul", in 1170 Benjamin of Tudela notes that there are about 7,000 Jews in Mosul. In later years, when Petachiah of Regensburg visited Mosul, Nineveh was in ruins.[18]
Herodium – a synagogue from the 1st century AD was discovered in Herod's palace fortress at Herodium.[19]
Masada – the ruins of the small synagogue at the top of Masada is one of the most well-documented Second Temple Period synagogues.[20]
Migdal Synagogue was discovered in 2009. One of the unique features of this synagogue, which is located on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee, in Magdala, is an intricately carved stone block that was found in the center of the main room.[21] Another synagogue dating to the same period was discovered in the city in 2021.[22]
Modi'in – a synagogue dating to the second century BC was discovered between Modi'in and Latrun.[20]
Qiryat Sefer/Modi'in Illit synagogue (1st century BC) – Israeli archaeologist Yitzhak Magen claimed in 1995 to have excavated a small first-century BC synagogue at Modi'in Illit/Qiryat Sefer, at a site known in Arabic as Khirbet Badd ‘Isa.[23][24][25]
Other ancient post-70 AD synagogues are:
The excavated Shalom Al Yisrael SynagogueinJericho dates to the late 6th or early 7th century, and is frequented on the beginning of every Hebrew calendar month for prayers and services.
A large 6th-century synagogue with a mosaic tile floor depicting King David was discovered in Gaza. An inscription states that the floor was donated in 508–509 AD by two merchant brothers.[26]
Jerusalem – there are synagogues in the Old City of Jerusalem built over the ruins of far older synagogues, which were destroyed by non-Jewish rulers of the city.
The Karaite Synagogue in Jerusalem is the oldest of Jerusalem's active synagogues, having been built in the 8th century. It was destroyed by the Crusaders in 1099 and Jews were not allowed to live in the city for 50 years. In 1187, Saladin restored the site to the Karaite Jews, who promptly rebuilt the synagogue. It has been active continuously since its foundation, except during the Crusades and Jordanian rule of the city (1948–1967). In 1967, the Israeli government returned the synagogue to the Karaite community, who finished renovating it in 1982.[citation needed]
The Musmeah Yeshua Synagogue in Rangoon (Yangon) was originally built in 1854. Located between shops and traders, the synagogue is still operating for the small community of Burmese Jews who live in Rangoon.
Jobar Synagogue, incorrectly described as "2,000 years old." The main hall is at least mediaeval. However, the shrine (or "hever" attributed to the Prophet Elijah) beneath the former prayer hall resembles other Late Antique catacombs 3rd-6th century AD.
Gamla – a synagogue was discovered near the city gate at Gamla, a site in the Golan northeast of the Sea of Galilee.[31] This city was destroyed by the Roman army in 67 AD and was never rebuilt.
Sardis Synagogue was built by Babylonian Jews who were invited to SardisbySeleucid King Antiochus III (223–187 BC). The Jews of Sardis are mentioned by Josephus Flavius in the 1st century AD, who refers to a decree of the Roman proquaestor Lucius Antonius from the previous century (50–49 BC): "Lucius Antonius, the son of Marcus, vice-quaestor, and vice-praetor, to the magistrates, senate, and people of the Sardians, sends greetings. Those Jews that are our fellow citizens of Rome came to me, and demonstrated that they had an assembly of their own, according to the laws of their forefathers, and this from the beginning, as also a place of their own, wherein they determined their suits and controversies with one another. Upon their petition therefore to me, that these might be lawful for them, I gave order that their privileges be preserved, and they be permitted to do accordingly." (Ant., XIV:10, 17) It is generally understood that "a place of their own" refers to the synagogue serving the local Jewish community of Sardis. Josephus Flavius also mentions the decree of Caius Norbanus Flaccus, a Roman proconsul during the reign of Augustus at the end of the 1st century BC, who confirms the religious rights of the Jews of Sardis, including the right to send money to the Temple of Jerusalem. (Ant., XVI:6,6)[32][33][34][35]
Interior of the 13th-century Old New Synagogue of Prague. Built around 1270, it is the world's oldest active synagogue.
The oldest synagogue outside of the Middle East uncovered in an archaeological dig to date is the Ostia Synagogue in the ancient Roman port of Ostia, in Italy. The present building, of which partial walls and pillars set upright by archaeologists remain, dates from the 4th century. However, excavation revealed that it is on the site of an earlier building dating from the middle of the 1st century AD, that is, from before the destruction of the Temple.[36] Its use as a synagogue is confirmed from at least the 2nd century AD.
The Ancient Synagogue of Barcelona, is a building from the 3rd or 4th century, when its function is unknown, and extended in the 13th, perhaps marking the start of its use as a synagogue. It has been described as the oldest synagogue in Europe. It was used as a synagogue until the massacre of the Jews in Barcelona in 1391, then used for other purposes until it was rediscovered and restored in the 1990s.[37][38][39]
The Köln Mediaeval Synagogue [de]inCologne, Germany has been excavated 2007/2012 and dates clearly pre-Carolingian (before 780/790). There is at the moment some strong evidence that it dates back to the early 4th century when emperor Constantine in 321 issued a privilege for the Cologne Jews. This has been confirmed recently by the find of the Cologne Mikvah [de], a rainwater mikveh of the 4th century, inside the building complex.[40]
The Old SynagogueinErfurt, Germany, which was partly built c. 1100, is thought by some experts to be one of the oldest synagogue buildings still standing in Europe (most of it is 13th/14th century). It has been used as museum of Jewish history since 2009.[9][10]
Santa María la Blanca, built in Toledo, Spain in 1190, has long been regarded as the oldest synagogue building in Europe still standing. It was consecrated as a church upon the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in the 15th century, but no major renovations were done. While still a consecrated church, it is no longer used for worship and is open as a museum.
The oldest active synagogue building in Europe is the Alteneu ShulinPrague, Czechia, which dates from the 13th century (probably 1270). The Altneu Shul was the pulpit of the great Rabbi Yehuda Loew, (the Maharal), and his creation, the Golem of Prague, is rumored to be hidden within the synagogue.
Albania's recent Synagogue was built around 1500 in Vlorë (in Italian, Valona) by a community of 609 Sephardic Jewish Families fleeing the Spanish and Portuguese Inquisitions. The Vlorë Synagogue was destroyed during World War I and not rebuilt. Of historic note, in 1675, the Messianic pretender Sabbatai Zevi died in exile at Ulcinj, Montenegro, a nearby town without a Jewish population.[42]
The "Synagogue of St Stephens Parish" was built in Vienna around 1204; The first Jews lived in the area near the Seitenstettengasse; from around 1280, they also lived around the modern-day Judenplatz where they built another Synagogue at Judenplatz [de] around the same time. The center of Jewish cultural and religious life was located in this area of Vienna from the 13th to the 15th century, until the Vienna Gesera of 1420/21, when Albert V ordered the annihilation of the city's Jews. Proof exists of a Jewish presence in Vienna since 1194. The first named individual was Schlom, Duke Frederick I's Münzmeister (transl. master of the mint).[43]
The Korneuburg Synagogue was built in the early 1300s for the Jewish community of Korneuburg, a market town some 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) upriver from Vienna. Local Church authorities destroyed the previous synagogue after the Host Desecration of 1298 (the resulting pogrom saw 10 Jews burned alive). A clerical investigation revealed the Desecration accusation lacked evidence and was the result of an unlawful conspiracy. Moreover, local church authorities benefitted from the seizure of the murdered Jews property; notably St Augustine's Monastery [de] was built on the site of the former synagogue, where it stands to this day.
Some 100 metres (330 ft) northeast of the town square, the Rossmuehl Synagogue [de] served Korneuburg's Jewish community until the expulsion of 1420. The property was converted to storage and various plans have been put forth to renovate the structure, and the Austrian Jewish Community (IKG) has shown no interest in assisting local groups and government agencies in the preservation of the structure, which is one of the oldest synagogues in Europe.
The Dubrovnik SynagogueinDubrovnik.[47] It is said to have been established in 1352, but gained legal status in the city in 1408.[48] Owned by the local Jewish community, the main floor still functions as a place of worship for Holy days and special occasions, but is now mainly a city museum which hosts numerous Jewish ritual items and centuries-old artifacts.
The Split Synagogue[49] was built in roughly 1500.[50] Located on Židovski Prolaz, or "the Jewish Passage," is the second oldest continuously operational Sephardic Synagogue in the world. It was built into the western wall of Diocletian's palace by Jews escaping the Inquisition in Spain and Portugal. In 1573, a Jewish cemetery was approved and built on Marjan Hill, which overlooks the city of Split. Jews arrived in Dalmatia, during the early centuries of the Christian era, with the conquering Roman armies. Romans established the city of Salona just behind Split, in the 1st century, where Jewish traders and craftsmen settled. Archaeological excavations have discovered artifacts of Jewish origin dating from this period and clues to the existence of a Synagogue dating back to the time of Diocletian who was Roman Emperor from 284 to 305.[51]
Entrance to the synagogue and gateway to the old ghetto in Avignon
The Synagogue of Carpentras [fr] was built in 1367. Today, only the underground parts (mikveh, bakery, butcher) remain, as the synagogue was rebuilt in the 18th century. The current façade is from 1909.
Synagogue of Avignon [fr] was built in 1846 on the site of a former synagogue from 1221. In 1221, the Jewish community was transferred to an enclosed quarter in the parish of Saint-Pierre, around the Place Jerusalem. The Jewish ghetto was closed off by three doors (the only one of which remaining is the portal of the Calandre) and the inhabitants were under the protection of the pope. The Synagogue was built just after the move in 1221. The Jewish Quarter was originally northwest of the Place du Palais but was moved due to burnings and harassment.[52]
The Synagogue of Nancy [fr]. There was a Jewish community in the city in the Middle Ages. This synagogue was built between 1788 and 1861, its façade dates from 1935.
The Köln Synagogue (see above), in Cologne, Germany, excavated in 2007/2012, dates from pre-Carolingian times (before 780/90) most likely in the first half of the 4th century.
The Old Synagogue (see above), in Erfurt, Germany, which was partly built c. 1100, mostly 13th and 14th century, is thought by some experts to be one of the oldest synagogue building still standing in Europe.
The Delos Synagogue, a Samaritan synagogue on the island of Delos, if proven to be a synagogue, would be the oldest synagogue known outside the Middle East, dates from at 150-128 BC, or earlier.
InBuda Castle lie the remains of three medieval synagogues: the Small Buda Castle Synagogue [hu] (built in 1364, it belonged to the Sephardi community of Buda; it was reconsecrated 6 September 2018 and presently has an active congregation), the Grand Buda Castle Synagogue [de] (built in 1461, it belonged to the Ashkenazi community of Buda), and the Old Buda Castle Synagogue [de] (built before 1306, it also belonged to the Ashkenazi community of Buda). Of the three, only the Small Buda Castle Synagogue is accessible as of 2018,[54][55][56][57] although excavations of the Grand Buda Castle Synagogue commenced in 2020, with a view to reconstructing it.[58]
The Ostia Synagogue (see above), in the ancient Roman port of Ostia, is the oldest synagogue site outside the Middle East, dates from the 1st century AD, with use as a synagogue proven from the 2nd century.
The Portuguese Synagogue, on December 12, 1670, the Sephardic Jewish community of Amsterdam acquired the site to build a synagogue and construction work began on April 17, 1671, under architect Elias Bouwman. On August 2, 1675, the Esnoga was finished.
The Polycharmos Synagogue, of Stobi, was discovered in 1974; it was adjacent to a Christian church. The synagogue site, itself, has an archaeological record of two older synagogues under the foundation of the Polycharmos Synagogue dating to the 4th century BC.[63]
The Bet Aharon Synagogue was built in 1366 then later renamed to "Kahal Kadosh D'Abasho" with the arrival of Sephardic Jews who displaced indigenous Romaniote Jews of the area. The Jewish community of Skopje outnumbered the non-Jewish community by 1566.[64]
The Sephardi Bet Yaʿaqov Synagogue was built in the early 1900s then renamed "Qahal Qadosh de Ariba" (meaning 'congregation on the mountaintop').[65][66][67][68][69]
Old SynagogueinKraków is from the 15th century and the oldest surviving synagogue building in Poland. The synagogue was built in 1407 or 1492; the date of building varies throughout sources.
The Synagogue of Óbidos is located in the old Jewish Quarter and dates to the 7th century[citation needed] where a Jewish community was re-established after the Visigoths seized the village in the 5th century. Óbidos was liberated in 1148, by the Jewish vizier, Yaish ibn Yahya; in return for its liberation King Afonso I Henriques rewarded Yaish ibn Yahya with a nearby town and anointed him "Lord of Unhos, Frielas and Aldeia dos Negros".
The Synagogue of Tomar is located in the historic centre of the city of Tomar, and houses a small Jewish museum. The synagogue of Tomar was built in 1460 by the thriving Jewish community of the town. Today, the museum holds Judaica, fine art, several medieval Jewish gravestones, important architectural fragments from other buildings, including an inscribed stone from 1307 believed to have come from the Lisbon Great Synagogue (destroyed in the earthquake of 1755) and a 13th-century inscribed stone from the medieval synagogue in Belmonte.
The Maribor Synagogue (originally the Judenschul in Marburg), first mentioned in 1354, was built around 1300. Located in the former Jewish district of the town at Židovska ulica 4, it is among the oldest surviving medieval synagogues in Europe.[71] The first documented evidence of a Jewish presence in present-day Slovenia dates to the 13th century when Yiddish and Italian-speaking Jews migrated south from present-day Austria.[72] The Marburg Synagogue remained in use until 1497 when the Jews were expelled from the city, and the building was converted to a church.
The Main Synagogue of Barcelona, the building was started to be built in the 3rd or 4th century, although there is no certainty of the date when it began to be a synagogue. It could be the oldest synagogue in Europe.
Santa María la Blanca (see above), built in Toledo in 1180, has long been regarded as the oldest synagogue building in Europe still standing.
Synagogue of Híjar, built in Híjar (in Aragon). It pre-dates the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492, and later was used as a church, although its Jewish architecture remains intact.
The first synagogue in Sweden was constructed in the fortress of the Free PortofMarstrand in the 1780 by Jews who had come from Hamburg. The free port status allowed freedom of worship independent from the control of the Church of Sweden. The synagogue is the earliest known synagogue in Scandinavia. After the closure of the free port, the Jewish community relocated to the nearby city of Gothenburg.
Jew's Court, Lincoln, has been claimed as an early synagogue, but it is very unlikely that any of the building is earlier than the 15th or 16th centuries. It has always been used for domestic or commercial purposes.[73]
Bevis Marks SynagogueinLondon, built in 1701, is the oldest synagogue building in the United Kingdom still in use.
The Plymouth Synagogue (see above), built in 1762, is the oldest surviving Ashkenazi synagogue in continuous use in the English-speaking world.
The Annesley Street Synagogue (1904), in Belfast, is the oldest standing synagogue in what is now Northern Ireland; it closed in 1965. The first synagogue in present-day Northern Ireland was also in Belfast, Great Victoria Street synagogue, built in 1870.
The Touro SynagogueinNewport, Rhode Island, is the oldest Jewish house of worship in North America that is still standing. It was built in 1763 for the Jeshuat Israel congregation, which was established in 1658.
Touro Synagogue in Newport, Rhode Island, the building of which commenced in 1759, is the United States' oldest synagogue and began services in the current building in the year 1763; the congregation was founded in 1658.
Congregation Talmud Torah Adereth El (located on East 29th Street in Manhattan) has been operating services from that location since 1863. The congregation was founded in 1857. It has the distinction of being the oldest synagogue in New York running services from the same location.
Congregation Kahal Kadosh Beth ElohiminCharleston, South Carolina was founded in 1749 and is the oldest synagogue in continuous use in the United States. The present building dates to 1840 and was constructed after the original structure was destroyed in the fire of 1838.
Nidhe Israel SynagogueinBridgetown, Barbados: one of the oldest synagogues in the Americas, originally built 1654, destroyed by hurricane of 1831, rebuilt and restored and used by the Jewish community in Barbados to this day.
The Kahal Zur Israel SynagogueinRecife, Brazil, erected in 1636, was the first synagogue erected in the Americas. Its foundations have been recently discovered, and the 20th-century buildings on the site have been altered to resemble a 17th-century Dutch synagogue.
Beth Shalom Temple was constructed in 1953 and was the first synagogue in Cuba. Although the majority of the community fled after the Cuban Revolution, the synagogue has become a relic to the past Cuban Jewish history and one of the holiest sites in all of Latin America. Nicknamed "El Patronato", thousands of visitors come yearly to learn about its history and importance in Judaism.
The Jewish community in Curaçao was founded in 1659. The Curaçao synagogue, congregation Mikvé Israel-Emanuel, built in 1732. It is the oldest synagogue still in use today in the Americas.[citation needed] When Jews were expelled from the French islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe the number of Jews in Curaçao increased and by 1780 reached 2,000, more than half of the white population. The Curaçao community became the "mother community" of the Americas and assisted other communities in the area, mainly in Suriname and St. Eustatius. It also financed the construction of the first synagogues in New York and Newport.[citation needed]
The first synagogue, a Sephardic Synagogue, was built in Port Royal in approximately 1646, but was destroyed during the earthquake of 1692. Another Synagogue, Neveh Shalom Synagogue, was established on Spanish Town's Monk Street in 1704, but today lies largely in ruins. The only synagogue still in current use, Shaare Shamayim in Kingston, was built in 1912.
The wooden, later brick, synagogue Beracha ve Shalom ("Blessings and Peace") at Jodensavanne, Suriname, was built between 1665 and 1671. It was destroyed in 1832, though its ruins still exist.
Neveh Shalom Synagogue, erection first completed in 1723 and rebuilt in 1842 or 1843, is currently the only synagogue in use in Suriname.
The Honen Dalim Synagogue, Oranjestad, built in 1739, fallen into ruins after the economy of the island collapsed and the Jews started to leave the island from 1795 to the point where there was no Jewish community left. It was partially restored in 2001.[citation needed]
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