Moscow Choral Synagogue
| Moscow Choral Synagogue Mocковская хopaльнaя синaгoга |
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 Location within Moscow
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| Basic information | |
| Location |
 Moscow, Russia
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| Geographic coordinates | 55°45′20″N 37°38′7″E / 55.75556°N 37.63528°ECoordinates: 55°45′20″N 37°38′7″E / 55.75556°N 37.63528°E |
| Affiliation | Orthodox Judaism |
| Year consecrated | June 1, 1906 |
| Status | Active |
| Website | jewishcom |
| Architectural description | |
| Architect(s) |
Semeon Eibuschitz (design) Roman Klein (completion) |
| Architectural type | Synagogue |
| Architectural style | Eclecticism |
| Groundbreaking | May 28, 1887 |
| Completed | 1891 |
The Moscow Choral Synagogue (Russian: Московская Хopaльнaя Cинaгoга Moskovskaya Khoralnaya Sinagoga) is the main synagogue in Russia and in the former Soviet Union. It is located in central Basmanny District at 10, Bolshoy Spasogolinischevsky Lane, close to Kitai-Gorod Metro station. Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt is the spiritual head of this Synagogue.
The synagogue is located close to the former Jewish settlement in Zaryadye. Moscow city authorities had officially banned synagogue construction inside Kitai-gorod, thus the synagogue was built one block east from its walls. In 1881, the community hired architect Semeon Eibuschitz, an Austrian citizen working in Moscow. However, his 1881 draft plan was not approved by authorities. The second draft, also by Eibuschitz, was approved in July, 1886, and construction began on May 28, 1887. In 1888, the city intervened again, and required the builders to remove the completed dome and the exterior image of the Scrolls of Moses. Construction dragged on for five years, until the authorities once again banned it in 1892, giving two choices - sell the unfinished building or convert it into a charity.
During the Russian Revolution of 1905, the Czarist government was forced to lift all bans on worship, so Jews, Old Believers, and other minority faith groups were free to build their places of worship anywhere. Eibuschitz had died in 1898, and so the community hired famous architect Roman Klein to finish the construction. The synagogue opened in 1906. It operated throughout the Soviet period, although authorities had annexed some parts of the original building for secular purposes (in 1923 and 1960).
In October, 1948, Golda Meir, the first representative from Israel to the Soviet Union, paid an unauthorized visit to the synagogue to attend Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur services, enraging the Soviet government.
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Wikipedia