Great Maharsha Synagogue
Religion
AffiliationJudaism
RiteAshkenazi
Location
LocationOstroh, Rivne Oblast, Ukraine
Geographic coordinates50°19′45″N 26°31′11″E / 50.32917°N 26.51972°E / 50.32917; 26.51972
Architecture
Architect(s)Giacomo Madlena[1]
StyleBaroque[1]
Date establishedafter 1627

The Great Maharsha Synagogue (Hebrew: בית הכנסת המהרש״א) was a synagogue in Ostroh, named after Rabbi Shmuel Eidels.

It was built after 1627 under a restriction "prohibiting the erection of synagogues taller than churches."[2] During the Russo-Polish War of 1792, the Russian army under General Kakhovsky (according to Alexander Suvorov, but this is not true) approached Ostroh. The frightened Jews locked themselves in the synagogue to save their lives. Meanwhile, the Polish army left the city, not ready to resist because of its small numbers. The Russians, believing that the synagogue was a castle, shelled the building with cannons for two days.

After explaining to them that the Poles had long since left the city, he showed the Russians the ford across the Vilia River (the bridge was burned by the Poles during their retreat). Later, as a sign of this miraculous rescue, the place on the south wall where the cannonball hit was not plastered, and the other cannonball was hung under the vault in the prayer hall.

The synagogue was damaged during the Khmelnytsky massacres and centuries later, once again, during the Holocaust. It was used as a warehouse during the Soviet era, and later abandoned. Reconstruction of the ruins began in 2016 under the leadership of Hryhoriy Arshynov.[3][4][5]

References

  1. 1 2 "Great Maharsha Synagogue in Ostroh". Historical Synagogues of Europe. The Center for Jewish Art. Retrieved April 6, 2022.
  2. ↑ Kravtsov, Sergey R. (December 17, 2015). "The Great Maharsha Synagogue in Ostroh: Memory and Oblivion. Have we reached the point of no return?". Jewish Heritage Europe. Retrieved April 6, 2022.
  3. ↑ "The Synagogue in Ostroh: Reconstruction of the ruins". Ukraïner. August 5, 2020. Retrieved April 6, 2022.
  4. ↑ "Ukraine: Great Maharsha Synagogue in Ostroh has a new roof". Jewish Heritage Europe. March 12, 2017. Retrieved April 6, 2022.
  5. ↑ "A great loss to Ukrainian-Jewish heritage". Ukrainian Jewish Encounter. November 3, 2020. Retrieved April 6, 2022.
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