Grand Choral Synagogue
| Grand Choral Synagogue | |
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The Grand Choral Synagogue
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| Basic information | |
| Location | 2 Lermontovskii Prospekt, Saint Petersburg, Russia |
| Geographic coordinates | 59°55′30″N 30°17′31.2″E / 59.92500°N 30.292000°E |
| Affiliation | Orthodox Judaism |
| Year consecrated | 1893 |
| Status | Active |
| Leadership | Menachem Mendel Pewzner |
| Website | jeps |
| Architectural description | |
| Architect(s) | A.V. Malov |
| Architectural type | Synagogue |
| Architectural style | Moorish Revival-Byzantine Revival |
| Groundbreaking | 1880 |
| Completed | 1888 |
The Grand Choral Synagogue of St. Petersburg (Russian: Санкт-Петербургская Большая Хоральная Синагога, tr. Sankt-Peterburgskaya Bolshaya Khoralnaya Sinagoga) is the second largest synagogue in Europe. It was built between 1880 and 1888, and consecrated in 1893. The Synagogue is located at 2 Lermontovskii Prospekt, St. Petersburg, Russia. The Chief Rabbi of St. Petersburg is Menachem Mendel Pewzner.
The St. Petersburg Synagogue could be built only after a building permit was obtained on September 1, 1869 from Tsar Alexander II, who lessened the restrictions on Jews' residence in St. Petersburg. This became possible after the memorandum to the Royal Name was submitted by the leader of the Jewish Community, Hereditary Honorary Citizen of Russia Evzel Ginzburg, who was one of the major suppliers of the Russian Imperial Army. His son, Horace Evselevich Ginzburg, was Chairman of the St. Petersburg Jewish community from 1869 - 1909, and supervised the construction of the first synagogue in St. Petersburg.
Tsar Alexander II allowed Jews who were retired soldiers, people with academic degrees, 1st guild merchants, specialty craftsmen, and technicians to reside in St. Petersburg, as well as other cities outside the Pale of Settlement. By 1870, there were about ten Jewish houses of worship in St. Petersburg, however, there was no Grand Synagogue to serve the entire Jewish community in the Russian capital.
The land plot for the first synagogue was bought in 1879 for 65,000 rubles. The construction of the first synagogue in St. Petersburg was subject to multiple conditions and restrictions. For example, there could be no Christian churches near the synagogue, nor government roads used by the Tsars. Another restriction was the height of the building, which was limited to 47 meters, instead of the 65 meters proposed by the architects. In fact, no building in St. Petersburg could be higher than 23 meters, the height of the Tsar's Winter Palace, and exemptions were only given for bell towers and domes, because those also served as observation towers for fire watch and other safety purposes. While allowing the synagogue to be 47 meters tall, the Tsar imposed several other requirements.
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