Zenica Synagogue

Last updated
Zenica Synagogue
Bosnian: Sinagoga u Zenici
Zenica 2006 2.jpg
The former synagogue, now museum, in 2006
Religion
Affiliation Orthodox Judaism (former)
Rite Nusach Sefard
Ecclesiastical or organizational status
Status
  • Closed(as a synagogue);
  • Repurposed
Location
LocationJevrejska bb 1, Zenica Zenica-Doboj Canton
Country Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina relief location map.png
Red pog.svg
Location of the former synagogue
in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Geographic coordinates 44°11′58″N17°54′34″E / 44.19944°N 17.90944°E / 44.19944; 17.90944
Architecture
Type Synagogue architecture
Style Moorish Revival
Date establishedc.1750
Completed1907
Official nameZgrada nekadašnje Sinagoge, historijski spomenik
TypeCategory II cultural property
Designated6 February 2013
(decision No. 06.1-02.3-53/13-6)
Reference no. 3710
List of National Monuments of Bosnia and Herzegovina

The Zenica Synagogue (Bosnian : Sinagoga u Zenici) is a former Orthodox Jewish congregation and synagogue that existed in the town of Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina between the years of 1903 and 1941. Since 1968, the building has been used as a Jewish history museum and was listed as a national monument in 2013. [1] [2]

Contents

History

The history of the Jews in Bosnia and Herzegovina dates from the Expulsion of Jews from Spain in 1492. While Jews did not settle in Zenica until 1750, most of these early settlers were Sephardic Jews; who were joined in 1878 by Ashkenazi Jews from Austria-Hungary. By 1885, the community had built a synagogue next to the local bazaar and a Jewish cemetery outside of the city. The current synagogue building was built between 1904 and 1907. In 1910 the Jewish community in Zenica was 297, with about 200 living in the city on the eve of the Invasion of Yugoslavia.

185 members of the Zenica Jewish community were killed in the Holocaust, [3] and those who returned to their homes after the war were unable to rebuild the demolished synagogue building themselves, so the building took on other roles. Zenica Ironworks used the building to house their printing house, and in the 1960s the building housed a furniture store. In 1968 the Jewish Community of Yugoslavia reached an agreement with the city to turn the building into a local museum. [2]

Description

The building of the Zenica Synagogue was based on Neo-Moorish Architecture and measured 10.2x18.5 m. [2]

See also

References

  1. "Historijski spomenik - zgrada nekadašnje Sinagoge u Zenici" (PDF). Povjerenstvo za očuvanje nacionalnih spomenika (in Bosnian). Bosna i Hercegovina Komisija. 6 February 2013. Retrieved 18 May 2024.[ permanent dead link ]
  2. 1 2 3 "Zenica City Museum". Euromuse. Archived from the original on December 17, 2019. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  3. Locker, Zvi (1988). Pinkas haKehilot . Jerusalem: Yad Vashem. p. 157.