Zhovkva Synagogue was built in the 1690s for a rapidly growing Jewish community. During the eighteenth century, it became an important center of Jewish study and worship. An outstanding example of a fortress synagogue with a late-Renaissance appearance and baroque additions, Zhovkva was designed to protect Jews from invasions. (...)
Zhovkva Synagogue was built in the 1690s for a rapidly growing Jewish community. During the eighteenth century, it became an important center of Jewish study and worship. An outstanding example of a fortress synagogue with a late-Renaissance appearance and baroque additions, Zhovkva was designed to protect Jews from invasions. To this day, a passageway to the roof and underground shelters exist.
During World War II, Nazis detonated explosives in the synagogue; while most of the interior and roof was destroyed, the outer walls and much of the baroque ornamental details survived. Most of Zhovkva’s Jewish population was killed during the war; consequently, religious functions were discontinued in the temple.
Poor materials were used in the 1955–1956 partial rebuilding and the 1992 façade repair campaigns. As a result, the building gradually deteriorated, with additional problems stemming from the restored areas. For years, the building was used as a storehouse, which contributed to its rapid deterioration. Water ingress and accumulation had compromised the structural integrity of the building.
