Ilya Lensky, of the of the Jews in Latvia Museum in Riga, has sent us this photo, from the Ludza City Council, taken January 13, showing the restored exterior of the Great Synagogue in Ludza.
As we reported at New Year’s, restoration of the synagogue, funded by an EEA grant, is nearing completion, and it is scheduled to have a formal rededication in August.
As we reported in February 2015, the building will become a museum, with its main sanctuary an exhibition hall. On the ground floor there will be an exhibition dedicated to the Latvian-Israeli documentary film director Herz Frank and his father, the pre-World War II Ludza photographer Wulf Frank. The former women’s gallery will house a permanent exhibition on the history of the Ludza Jewish community, dating back to 18th century, and the Holocaust.
See our January 1, 2016 post detailing the restoration