The Heritage department of Lithuania’s Ministry of Culture has allocated funding grants for several synagogues and Jewish or Jewish-related heritage sites around the country.
According to a document published by the Heritage department, these include:
- — The synagogue of Alytus and rabbi’s house (whose owner and managing organization is the Alytus City Municipality Administration) – €50.000
- — The wooden synagogue of Žiežmariai (owned by the Jewish Community of Lithuania, and managed by the Kaisiadorys District Municipality Administration) – €80.000 first stage funds granted to repair roof and facade;
- — The complex of the two synagogues, and Talmud School in Kalvarija – funds were granted for the Talmud School (ownerd by the Jewish Community of Lithuania, managed by the Kalvarija Municipality Administration) – €75.000
- — The synagogue on Gėlių Str. in Vilnius (owned and managed by the Jewish Community of Lithuania) – €67.000
- The Karaite Kenesa in Trakai (owned and managed by the Karaite Religious Community of Lithuania) – €20,000
Martynas Užpelkis, the Lithuanian Jewish community’s representative for heritage preservation, informs us that yet unspecified funds have also been allocated for
Meanwhile, wooden architecture heritage specialists, restorers, architects, and engineers in late April visited the wooden synagogue of Pakruojis — which, as we have reported HERE and HERE, is undergoing restoration funded by an EEA Grant. (The building, dating to 1801, is the oldest and most valuable of the wooden synagogues in Lithuania. After restoration it will become a children’s library). The purpose of the visit, which was organized by the Ministry of Culture. was discuss solutions for the building’s insulation.
The EEA Grants program in Lithuania posted a photo gallery on its Facebook page that shows the current state of the interior of the building.