Tempel Synagogue (Lviv)

Tempel Synagogue
Location
Location	Lviv, Ukraine
Architecture
Style	Baroque style
Completed	19th century

The Tempel Synagogue was a Reform synagogue near Starji Rinok Square (the historic fish market) in Lviv, Ukraine. Lviv was one of the first Ukrainian cities to have a Reform Synagogue. Even before the Reform community in Lviv built their synagogue, the community received a Torah scroll from a Reform community in Long Beach, California.

History

The synagogue was built for the first time in the 17th century. From 1844 to 1845 it underwent construction. It was destroyed by the Nazis in 1941. There is a memorial stone and plate at the location of the synagogue that states: "This is the site of the synagogue of the Progressive Jews called "The Temple" which served Lvov's Intelligentsia. It was built during 1844-1845 and was destroyed by German soldiers on entering to Lvov on July 1941."

The plaque which commemorates the synagogue

Architecture

The synagogue was a classical building with a large dome. The interior sanctuary was round, with seating facing forward and the Bimah placed at the front of the seating area, near the Torah Ark in the Reformed style. Also in the Reformed style was the elevated pulpit with an architectural canopy from which the rabbi preached the sermon in the vernacular (i.e., not in Yiddish.) A double tier of women's balconies ran around the perimeter of the room, old photographs reveal an elaborately decorated classical space reminiscent of the great opera houses of the era.

Gallery

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  Tempel Synagogue on the Old Market sq. in 1862
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  View with Tempel Synagogue
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  View with Tempel Synagogue
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Media related to Tempel Synagogue in Lviv at Wikimedia Commons