The Great Synagogue of Vilnius

Before World War II, there were 135 synagogues in Vilnius, but the Great Synagogue was the centre of spiritual and cultural life for Litvaks. Today, the remains of the Great Synagogue of Vilna are an important part of the city’s cultural heritage. The Great Synagogue of Vilna was founded at the end of the 16th century when the Litvak community was granted the right to attend their houses of prayer. The first house of prayer was wooden. In 1633, King Wladyslaw IV Vasa allowed a brick synagogue to be built in the Jewish Quarter. The synagogue couldn’t be taller than the nearby churches, so the building’s architects found a creative solution and built a couple of floors below ground level. Outside, the synagogue looked to be about three stories tall, but inside it was over five stories. The main prayer hall was square and could hold 3000 people, but this synagogue was well ahead of all other similar structures of the time, and could host up to 5,000 worshipers. The architectural monument survived World War II despite being severely damaged, but was later destroyed under Soviet rule. Three original pieces from the Great Synagogue of Vilna survived the destruction and are now on display at the Vilna Gaon Jewish Museum: a door of the Holy Ark, a reader’s desk, and a bas-relief of the Ten Commandments.