(JHE) — The structurally threatened Etz Hayyim synagogue in Larissa, central Greece has been closed for more than a year, partway through an extensive restoration process, and the small Jewish community in Larissa is appealing for aid to help complete the estimated €500,000+ project.
The synagogue was closed in October 2019, when engineers assessed the building as being at risk of collapse, and all the fittings of the elegant interior were removed.
“Despite the repairs and maintenance works it received at times, the building which was built with adobe bricks, wooden columns and without deep foundation, according to old building methods, is now severely damaged with obvious signs of its 160 years of life,” the Larissa Jewish community web site states.
[experts] studied its static adequacy in order to start support works. The findings were disappointing because, apart from the visible damages, numerous other invisible problems arose, which rendered the building inadequate and dangerous. Everything was removed from the Synagogue which has been temporarily supported, expecting the funding to continue the restoration works recommended by the team of experienced engineers.
According the information supplied by the Jewish community and provided to JHE by Marcia Haddad Ikonomopoulos, Director of the Kehila Kedosha Janina Synagogue and Museum in New York, the costs for required restoration work will amount to more than €500,000. It entails:
- Removal and reconstruction of the roof
- Repair of the pillars
- Restoration of the internal elements
- Reinforcement of the masonry walls and installation of additional metal beams
- Reinforcement of the building’s foundations
- External painting
- Internal painting
- Flooring
- Installation of new electrical systems and wiring
- Installation of air-conditioning system
Etz Hayyim is the only one of the seven pre-WW2 synagogues in Larissa to survive.
It was constructed in 1860/61, after a major fire three years earlier destroyed most of the Jewish quarter. During World War II the synagogue was taken over by the Germans and used as a stable, suffering serious damage. It was fully restored and its interior reconstructed soon after the war, with the aid of the the American Joint Distribution. It underwent further renovations in 1991, with donations from members of the community, other Jewish communities in Greece and KIS (the Central Board of Jewish Communities).
The synagogue is believed to have been originally a Romaniote structure, but the post-war restoration laid out the sanctuary in a traditional Sephardic style: the echal (Ark) on the eastern wall and the tevah (bimah) in the center.
Marcia Haddad Ikonomopoulos provides the following architectural description of the sanctuary:
The center of the synagogue is divided by 10 massive marble columns, 4 accentuating the tevah, a simple geometric structure in white and gray marble. The echal is set in a marble recess in the eastern wall, topped by a decorative arch with the Decalogue (Ten Commandments). The women’s section is upstairs and was accessible through a staircase in the courtyard. Due to the small size of the congregation, the women now sit downstairs in a section specifically designated for them. The overall effect of the synagogue is one of austere elegance, with few decorations other than the essential “sacred areas” (tevah and echal). The lighting is provided by electrified chandeliers and recessed round windows in the façade.
(The synagogue is located in a courtyard — in early December, a Greek man dressed in a cassock spray-painted the slogan “Jesus wins” on the wall near the courtyard gate and on a nearby Holocaust memorial. The vandalism drew sharp condemnation, and the man was arrested a few days later.)