In Uzhgorod, a unique wooden synagogue is being restored with government support

A solemn ceremony of laying the first stone in the foundation of a unique wooden synagogue of the mid-19th century, transported from the village of Velikie Komyaty, took place in Uzhgorod skansen. The building is the only monument of its kind in Europe, which was previously under the threat of complete destruction. This was reported in the Transcarpathian Regional Council.

Until recently, this architectural rarity literally crumbled before our eyes, having been used as a warehouse for decades. The rescue operation acquired an international status: diplomats from Hungary, Jewish communities and patrons of the arts joined together to move the synagogue to the Uzhgorod Museum. Each beam of the building was carefully labeled and dismantled by specialists to now recreate the object in its original form. The foundation laying ceremony was attended by the chairman of the regional council Roman Sarai, Hungarian Consul General Jozsef Boczkai and the president of the Jewish Confederation of Ukraine Rabbi Meir Stambler.

According to historical data, the synagogue was discovered for the scientific world in the late 1980s by the researcher from Budapest Aniko Gazda. After her death in 1990 the study of the monument was temporarily suspended, but in 1992 Lviv architects made detailed measurements of the building. The building, measuring 13.83 by 7.92 meters, looks like a traditional village hut, but the specific details of the construction indicate its sacred purpose.

Experts are currently working on a restoration miracle – restoration of the lost fragments of the interior according to archive drawings. It is planned that after the work is completed, the synagogue will become not only an important tourist object for historians and pilgrims, but also a living space for the cultural and spiritual life of the Jewish community. As Roman Sarai noted, this object is “a living witness to the centuries-old history of the region and a symbol of multicultural Transcarpathia”.

We shall remind you that earlier we reported that Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a bill criminalizing manifestations of anti-Semitism in the country.