The Lost Heritage. Part 7. Great synagogue in Navahradak

Navahradak was and still is a multicultural place. Representatives of not only different religions but also nationalities coexisted there, and the most significant part consisted of Belarusians, Poles, Tatars and, of course, part of the community was Jewish. For example, at the beginning of World War II, the city had 11,000 inhabitants, 63% of whom were Jews.

Jews came to Navahradak in the 15th century. They opened their synagogue in 1648, when the Jewish community bought the building from the Karaites. The synagogue was located almost in the center of the town - just behind the church of St. Michael. And the street, where there used to be a synagogue, was first called Jewish, in Polish times it became a Church Street, and then it was called a Soviet Street. The synagogue itself was called the Great Synagogue or the Great Cold Synagogue. It was a beautiful baroque church built of stone. The interior of the building was richly decorated.

The Great Synagogue of Navahradak survived two World Wars, all revolutions, and it worked during the interwar period. After World War II a warehouse was built in the sinagogue building. And the history of the Great Cold Synagogue ended on July 2, 1964, when it was completely destroyed as a result of a planned detonation. Now there is a large parking lot at this place.

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