Restoration work the Great Maharsha Synagogue in Ostroh, Ukraine has achieved a milestone — a new roof, meaning that the 17th century building will be protected while further restoration work continues.
“My 25 year old dream fulfilled!” local activist Grigori Arshinov, who spearheaded and oversaw the work, wrote on Facebook. “Ostroh Great Synagogue has a new roof, completely!!! In this condition it will be preserved for future generations, at least! Will we dream about windows?”
Built around 1627, the synagogue is an important example of a seminal architectural design for synagogues that emerged in eastern and then western Europe in the 17th century: the nine-bay layout, which symbolized the Twelve Tribes of Israel surrounding the Sanctuary.
Damaged during the Holocaust, it was then used as a pharmacological warehouse under the Soviets, and later abandoned.
We have posted several times about the progress of the restoration, starting in December 2015 with The Great Maharsha Synagogue in Ostroh: Memory and Oblivion. Have we reached the point of no return? , an article by Sergey R. Kravtsov of the Center for Jewish Art about this history of the building — in which he wondered whether it might be too late to save it.
Arshinov told a conference in L’viv in September 2016 that he had been inspired to push for the restoration by Kravtsov’s writing.
Click here to see drone footage of the restoration work in progress this winter
Click to see our November 2016 post showing work in progress
Click to read Sergey R. Kravtsov’s article