Choral synagogue Taharat Hakodesh

Hi. I‘m Donata from Lithuania. I want to tell you a little bit about one of Unesco heritage sites in Vilnius: Choral synagogue Taharat Hakodesh.

In 1847 Jews got the permission from the government to build a synagogue in Lithuania, because previously they had used different places for gatherings and meetings. But it was not until 1899 that Jews‘ leadership bought a plot of land from some merchants in Pylimo street, Vilnius. In 1902, the architect David Rosenhaus submitted a project and the first synagogue in Lithuania was opened in September 1903, during Rosh-Hashana. Synagogue members in the 19th century included such well-known writers as Abraham Dov Lebensohn, Aisik Meyer Dik, Kalman Shul-man, and rabbi Zelig Minor, who bequeathed his valuable library to the synagogue.

Before the Second World war there were up to 600 synagogues in Lithuania but now there are about 80 buildings left and some of those serve another purpose now and therefore and not similar to what they were before. Now just 3 synagogues in Lithuania are in operation and Choral synagogue Taharat Hakodesh is one of them.