Great German Synagogue

The Great German Synagogue (Italian: Scuola Grande Tedesca) is one of five synagogues in the Jewish Ghetto of Venice, Italy. Established in 1528, it is the oldest Venetian synagogue.[1][2]

Great German Synagogue
The synagogue building seen from the square of the Ghetto Nuovo
Religion
Affiliation	Orthodox Judaism
Status	Inactive
Location
Location	Venice, Italy
Architecture
Completed	1528

The synagogue was most recently restored between 2016 and 2017 by the World Monuments Fund.[3] It is open to the public through the Jewish Museum of Venice.

History

The Great German Synagogue was built in 1528[4][5] by members of the local Ashkenazi community. A stone plaque on the west wall of the building records its construction at the expense of two donors.[6] Like the other four synagogues in Venice, it was termed a scuola ("School"), rather than sinagoga ("Synagogue"), in the same way in which Ashkenazi Jews refer to the synagogue as the shul (שול‎) in Yiddish.

Architecture

Built on top of a preexisting structure, the prayer hall features an irregular shape.[6] The bimah was originally placed in the middle of the room in accordance with the traditional "central bimah" configuration,[7] and only later moved to the north end of the sanctuary.[8]

Gallery

• 
  The ark
• 
  The bimah
• 
  The women's gallery
• 
  The ark projecting over the rear canal

References

1. Davis & Ravid 2001, p. 43.
2. Tigay 1994, p. 542.
3. Venice Synagogues Window Restoration. World Monument Fund. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
4. Stiefel 2016, pp. 47–48.
5. The synagogues. Jewish Museum of Venice. Retrieved July 14, 2016.
6. Krinsky 1996, p. 379.
7. Turner 1979, p. 293.
8. Concina, Camerino & Calabi 1991, pp. 102, 107.

Cited literature

• Concina, Ennio; Camerino, Ugo; Calabi, Donatella (1991). La Città degli Ebrei. Il Ghetto di Venezia: Architettura e Urbanistica (in Italian). Venice: Albrizzi Editore. ISBN 8831754890.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Davis, Robert C.; Ravid, Benjamin, eds. (2001). The Jews of Early Modern Venice. Baltimore–London: Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 0-8018-6512-3.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Krinsky, Carol H. (1996). Synagogues of Europe: Architecture, History, Meaning. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications. ISBN 9780486290782.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Stiefel, Barry L. (2016). Jews and the Renaissance of Synagogue Architecture, 1450–1730. London–New York: Routledge. ISBN 1317320328.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Tigay, Alan M., ed. (1994). The Jewish Traveler: Hadassah Magazine's Guide to the World's Jewish Communities and Sights. Northvale, N.J.–Jerusalem: Jason Aronson. ISBN 978-1-56821-078-0.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Turner, Harold W. (1979). From Temple to Meeting House: The Phenomenology and Theology of Places of Worship. The Hague–Paris–New York: Walter de Gruyter. ISBN 1850432368.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

Further reading

• Curiel, Roberta; Cooperman, Bernard Dov (1990). The Ghetto of Venice. London–New York: Tauris Parke. ISBN 1850432368.