Slonim Synagogue
Religion
Affiliation	Judaism
Location
Location	Slonim,  Belarus
Geographic coordinates	53°5′36.57″N 25°19′3.33″E / 53.0934917°N 25.3175917°E / 53.0934917; 25.3175917
Architecture
Type	Synagogue
Style	Baroque
Completed	1648
Direction of façade	East

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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. It has the status of Historical and Cultural value of the Republic of Belarus.

History

The synagogue was the main religious building of Slonim's then numerous and influential Jewish community. The building was erected in 1642^[1] 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.^[2]

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.Late December 2020 the individual from Minsk has bought the synagogue at the auction and opened the Saving Heritage foundation 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 Foundation for Jewish Heritage 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”.^[3] The steering group includes Britons and Americans with family links to the Jewish community of Slonim and the architect Tszwai So.^[4] On 29 December 2020 the Synagogue was sold at public auction to a writer and musician Ilona Ioanna Reeves. In 2022 the writer gave the synagogue ^[5]

Gallery

Fishmarket in front of the synagogue, 1906

Slonim Synagogue, 1975 painting by Valery Sliunchanka

Interiors of the synagogue before 1939

Interiors of the synagogue before 1939

Interiors of the synagogue before 1939

Slonim Synagogue, 1930 photo by the well-known Belarusian-Polish photographer, Jan Bulhak