Exactly 80 years after the grandiose New Synagogue in Kaliningrad, Russia — formerly Königsberg, East Prussia — was destroyed on Kristallnacht, a newly constructed near replica of the great domed building was dedicated on the same spot where the original synagogue stood.
As many as 2,000 people attended the inauguration ceremony November 8. One of Russia’s two chief rabbis, the Chabad-affiliated Berel Lazar, affixed a large, ornate mezuzah at the entrance.
He and local businessman Vladimir Katzman — the initiator and chief financial sponsor of the reconstruction — cut a ribbon, and Katzman placed a Torah scroll in the ark.
The first stone was laid in 2011, after the city granted the local Jewish community the plot (which had been occupied by a circus).
The new synagogue is modeled on the original structure, which, 46-meters high, was built in 1894-96 for the Liberal Jewish community and designed by the Berlin-based architects Cremer and Wolfenstein. The new building is smaller and differs in a number of other ways.
According to the Jews in East Prussia organization,
Since the terrain is now narrower than the original, the building is narrower and lower than the original. The façade design also differs from the original, which was built of red brick and Ludovici bricks. The now dominant limestone strips symbolize the connection to Israel.
The project was developed in the Institute of Restoration, Ecology, and Urban Planning under the guidance of architect Natalia Lorents. The total cost of the reconstruction has been estimated at nearly €8 million.
In addition to Katzman, Jews in East Prussia noted, other key funders included Igor Rabinovich, who financed the complex construction and placement of the 23.5 ton dome; Boris Pechersky who financed the glass windows, and Leonid Plitman who funded construction of the ark. A 92-year-old Holocaust survivor, Jacob Sukhovolsky, donated 1 million rubles for synagogue’s entry doors.
JTA reported that work on the building is not fully complete (“Jews of East Prussia” says that work should be completed in around six months).
The building is still in the last stages of construction, its wall featuring exposed wires and pipes and its backyard essentially a construction site. Even the impressive facade has missing tiles. One half-built tile roof above the entrance tells the story of elastic deadlines and a building opened hastily to make the historic anniversary.
Around 2,000 Jews live in the Kaliningrad area, and according to the project web site and Jews of East Prussia, the building will be a multi-purpose religious, educational, and cultural center. It will include:
– two synagogue rooms
– kosher dining room
– kosher shop
– a Mikvah
– Rooms for kindergarten and Sunday school
– Library, reading room, auditorium
– Exhibition rooms (including an exhibition on history and the Holocaust)
Watch a Kaliningrad TV report on the opening:
See Jews in East Prussia FB report and photos of the inauguration