Description of the attraction
The Choral Synagogue is one of the most important synagogues in Kiev. The building is located at the corner of Rognedinskaya and Shota Rustaveli streets. The idea to build this building appeared in the 90s of the 19th century and belongs to the sugar refinery and patron of the arts Lazar Brodsky. The engineer G. Shleifer, who had previously designed the building of the current Ivan Franko Theater, was invited to implement the project. The construction ran into obstacles in the legislation of that time - Jews were allowed to use only finished buildings for prayer, and it was forbidden to erect new ones. For this reason, they had to go for a trick: in general, the Moorish-style synagogue was designed in such a way that the facade facing the street looked like a residential building. Such a step made it possible to obtain a building permit in the Senate. Already in 1898, the synagogue was built and consecrated, and honorary people of the city and province were present at the opening.
For thirty years, the choral synagogue served as a Jewish religious center, but in the 1920s the building was confiscated from the Jewish community. For a long time, various institutions were located in the building of the choral synagogue. It housed a handicrafts club, a political school, a military-sanitary circle, and even a stable. In 1955, the building housed the Kiev Puppet Theater.
Throughout its existence, the choral synagogue has been reconstructed several times. So, in the 70s, noticeable changes were made to the facade and the upper floor of the building. Only after the collapse of the USSR, spiritual life gradually began to return to the synagogue. At first, prayers began to be held only on the top floor of the building, and then, when it was possible to achieve the transfer of the puppet theater to a new building, the synagogue was completely transferred to the disposal of the Jewish community of Kiev.
