Choral Synagogue

Unfortunately, the condition of the synagogue leaves much to be desired. It is not valid today. It can only be viewed from the outside.

Today, the construction of a synagogue at the beginning of the seventeenth century is considered to be a sound scientific fact. But as Rostislav Metelnytsky, an architect of the building's architecture, says, the building was not erected from scratch. That is, it has a certain architectural heritage - built on the remains of some previous structure. Which one - no one knows yet. Maybe it was another synagogue, or maybe an arsenal. It is only known that this previous structure was stonework and at least one wall of the current synagogue contains relics of the previous structure. In the 16th century there were already several small synagogues in Lutsk. In 1600, the Lutsk Jewish community was granted the privilege of King Sigismund III for the right of self-government in the city's Jewish quarter. Researchers have suggested that since the second half of the 16th century a synagogue was erected in the city, which burned down during the Tatar raid in 1617. Possibly, a new one was built on its ruins. On May 5, 1626, King Sigismund III granted the Lutsk Jews the privilege of constructing a stone synagogue and a new school "at the place where the old one stood." The work began, but not everyone treated it favorably. The administration of a nearby Dominican monastery has filed a construction complaint. The essence of the complaint was that the synagogue was located too close to the church and its height could exceed it. Two years of litigation lasted. And finally, in 1628, the case ended with the victory of the Jewish community. The court ruled that the height of the synagogue did not interfere with the monastery. Seeing such a thing, the king granted another privilege to build a synagogue. A defensive tower was to be added to it, a cannon was put on it and, if necessary, defended the city. In the first years of the new synagogue, a yeshiva or yeshivot was opened. It is a higher religious institution, where rabbis were also trained. Under the synagogue there are dungeons, also not explored. Some of them have the same location as any other defense synagogue. This can be explained by the fact that the synagogue is partially standing on some previous structure. No detailed studies have been made, so there are no professional conclusions regarding the construction heritage from another unknown structure. In 1941, German Nazis captured Lutsk. In the city they formed Jewish ghettoes. One is around the great synagogue. There were 17,000 people in the ghetto. During August and September, they were shot near the village of Polonka. Together with them, another 8,000 Jews from surrounding villages were killed. The dwellings and property of the Jews were crushed, robbed, burned, destroyed. The same year, the Germans laid a blast in the synagogue. The explosion destroyed two-story premises, the roof of the prayer hall and the attic in places; the hall itself was badly destroyed; the tower almost collapsed, losing only the upper ceilings. The similarity of the Nazi and Communist regimes was evident in the Jewish question. After the war, no one was engaged in preserving the monument. In the forties and fifties, the former synagogue stood under the elements of the weather and collapsed. Over time, some elements piled up, the inner space was overgrown with weeds and debris. In the early seventies, the synagogue was removed from the list of attractions. So, formally, it was no longer subject to protection, which no one ever did. The building was decided to use as a visual layout for civil defense. It laid the explosives and wanted to blow up just as the Germans did in 1942. The blast remained for several days. But then the chief architect of the region Lev Sanzharov intervened at that time. He reported on the situation in the state building. The following day a government telegram came to Lutsk, which banned the blast. After that, they made a project to adapt the building to the sports hall with the completion. So the former synagogue is still in use.

The synagogue is gradually destroyed. Inside the sports complex, which can not but grieve. The building would be taken under protection, restored and made there a museum or give it to the Jewish community if there is one.

Historical place but neglected. Nobody has any business to the historical heritage of the city. It is sad and embarrassing to show the city the state in which this building is.

If this building had not been marked on the maps as a synagogue, with the main choral one !, we would not even have gone there, and if we had passed by, we would not have noticed ... But we arrived in Lutsk from one of the most Jewish cities of Eastern Europe - Grodno, where the building of the choral synagogue is amazing! Therefore, I wanted to see something similar here. True, it was already late and dark (our walking tour of Lutsk was delayed), and we walked along the navigator only to check in here. Honestly, they didn't even believe that they had "arrived at the final point of the route." Some kind of awkward, dilapidated building. There was even nothing to photograph. Again, it was in the dark, maybe in daylight everything is a little better. But I do not advise you to turn off the route in order to see it. You won't lose anything.