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Monastir (Monasteriote) Synagogue, Thessaloniki, Greece
The Monastir synagogue on Siggrou 35, Thessaloniki, Greece.
Description
The Monastir Synagogue came about through the migration of Sephardic Jews from the city of Monastir (Present Day Bitola, Macedonia).1 The Monastril Jews raised funds in 1924 for the Synagogue and in 1927 the Synagogue celebrated its inauguration. In 1927, the synagogue was located on Syngrou Street, today it is Siggrou street.2
The synagogue served as the community center of the Monastril Jews. By 1939, it had become a popular place for many other Jews as well, not only Sephardic or Monastril Jews. Jews of all faiths came here as it was a popular wedding destination.3
The synagogue was praised for its modern structure with its Byzantine architecture, two-column entranceway, and floral motifs.4
Today the Synagogue remains in service and is considered an official historical site.
Sources
Summer trip 2016.
Footnotes
[1] Devin E. Naar, “The ‘Mother of Israel’ or the ‘Sephardi Metropolis’? Sephardim, Ashkenazim, and
Romaniotes in Salonica,” in Jewish Social Studies 22, no 1 (Fall 2016), 94. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2979/jewisocistud.22.1.03
[2] Neer, Jewish Social Studies, 96.
[3] Neer, Jewish Social Studies, 97.
[4] “The Monastir Synagogue in Salonika, Greece,” ANU – Museum of the Jewish People, accessed August 8, 2021. https://www.anumuseum.org.il/monastir-synagogue-salonika/
Photos
Arie Darzi, “Saloniki Synagogue Monastir a,” in Wikimedia Commons, April 25, 2010. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Saloniki_Synagogue_Monastir_a.jpg
Arie Darzi, “Saloniki Synagogue b,” in Wikimedia Commons, April 25, 2010. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Saloniki_Synagogue_b.jpg
NYC2TLV, “Monastir Synagogue Plaque,” in Wikimedia Commons, November 22, 2007. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Monastir_Synagogue_Plaque.JPG
NYC2TLV, “Monastir Synagogue,” in Wikimedia Commons, November 22, 2007. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Monastir_Synagogue.JPG
Bibliography
Darzi, Arie. “Saloniki Synagogue b.” In Wikimedia Commons. April 25, 2010. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Saloniki_Synagogue_b.jpg
—“Saloniki Synagogue Monastir a.” In Wikimedia Commons. April 25, 2010. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Saloniki_Synagogue_Monastir_a.jpg
Naar, Devin E. “The ‘Mother of Israel’ or the ‘Sephardi Metropolis’? Sephardim, Ashkenazim, and
Romaniotes in Salonica.” in Jewish Social Studies 22, no 1 (Fall 2016): 81-129. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2979/jewisocistud.22.1.03
NYC2TLV. “Monastir Synagogue Plaque.” In Wikimedia Commons. November 22, 2007. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Monastir_Synagogue_Plaque.JPG
—. “Monastir Synagogue.” In Wikimedia Commons. November 22, 2007. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Monastir_Synagogue.JPG
“The Monastir Synagogue in Salonika, Greece.” ANU – Museum of the Jewish People. Accessed August 8, 2021. https://www.anumuseum.org.il/monastir-synagogue-salonika/