Il Kal Grande

Il Kal Grande Il Kal Grandi
The former synagogue, in c. 1930s – c. 1940s
Religion
Affiliation	Orthodox Judaism (former)
Ecclesiastical or organizational status	Synagogue (1930–1941) University (1965–1993) Cultural center (since 1993)
Ownership	Bosnian Cultural Center
Status	Closed(as a synagogue); Repurposed
Location
Location	Sarajevo
Country	Bosnia and Herzegovina
Location in Bosnia and Herzegovina Show map of Bosnia and Herzegovina Il Kal Grande (Sarajevo) Show map of Sarajevo
Geographic coordinates	43°51′26″N18°25′19″E / 43.85720171284883°N 18.422037471148602°E / 43.85720171284883; 18.422037471148602
Architecture
Architect(s)	Rudolf Lubinski
Type	Synagogue architecture
Style	Moorish Revival
Completed	1930
Construction cost	YUM18 million
Destroyed	16 April 1941 (partial)
Specifications
Capacity	1,000 worshipers
Dome(s)	One
Dome height (outer)	36 metres (118 ft)
Designated as NHL
KONS of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Official name	Il Kal Grande, the historic monument
Type	Category II cultural property
Designated	November 10, 2003 (decision No. 06-6-977/03-3)
Reference no.	114
National Monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Location of the building in local neighborhood

Il Kal Grande, also spelled Il Kal Grandi (Judaeo-Spanish: The Great Synagogue), is a former Orthodox Jewish congregation and synagogue, located in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The congregation worshiped in the Sephardi rite. The building has been used as a cultural center since 1946. ^[1]

History

The large synagogue was constructed in the Moorish Revival style in 1930, by a design of the architect Rudolf Lubinski. It was the largest and most ornate synagogue in the Balkans. It included a large, ornately decorated prayer-hall, a smaller prayer-hall for use during the week, a genizah, rooms for the rabbi and various other utilities since the building was meant to serve not only as a synagogue, but also as a community center. The building was consecrated in 1930 in a ceremony attended by the chief rabbi of Yugoslavia Dr. Isaac Alcalay, chief Sephardic rabbi of Sarajevo Dr. Moritz Levy and chief Ashkenazi rabbi of Sarajevo Dr. Hinko Urbach, among others. ^[2]

The building was heavily damaged and looted by the Nazis in 1941 during World War II, and the majority of the Jewish community was murdered in the Holocaust.

After WWII, all the Jews of Sarajevo used the Sarajevo Synagogue, the synagogue of the Ashkenazi community.

In 1946 Jewish community reached an agreement with the city's new government to donate a building to the City of Sarajevo, and to be used exclusively for cultural purpose. ^[1] The exterior of "Il Kal Grande" was restored in a simplified secular form in 1965, and the former dome was replaced with a flat roof. The building was initially used as the Đuro Đaković Workers' University Center and currently as the Bosnian Cultural Center. ^{[1] [3]}

See also

• Judaism portal
• Bosnia and Herzegovina portal

Torah ark

• Jews in Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Sarajevo Haggadah
• List of synagogues in Bosnia and Herzegovina

References

1. Il, Michael (2 August 2023). "Synagogue, workers' university, cultural center". History and Cultural Heritage in Eastern Europe. Copernico. Retrieved 18 May 2024.
2. Rajner, Mirjem (2021). Il Kal Grandi - Sarajevo's Great Sephardic Temple: At the Crossroads Between Orient and Modernity. Bar-Ilan University, Department of Jewish Art.
3. "O BKC-u – JU BKC KS" (in Bosnian). Retrieved 2025-05-30.

External links

• Media related to Il Kal Grande at Wikimedia Commons