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World Jewish News
Samara Choral Synagogue on Edge of Destruction
20.03.2009
The citizens of Samara are afraid that the city might lose one of its most beautiful buildings. The choral synagogue, a real gem of the city, is on the brink of destruction. The unique hundred-year old building has been being slowly destroyed for the last ten years.
"It was built from silicate brick." Says art expert Vladimir Vostrikov. "It is fragile enough as it is, but the local bread factory has been constantly vibrating nearby. The building is on the brink of destruction. The carcass of the building has practically been removed, the walls are weak, there are neither doors nor windows, no heating – it may collapse at any moment, and we will forever lose one more architectural gem of the city!"
To save the building, the authorities have decided to register the synagogue as a federal cultural relic and to enter it into one of the federal financing programs. However, Vladimir Vostrykov thinks that the authorities may not make it in time. "The synagogue might not hold these next couple of years."
The community is offering radical solutions to this problem. The city and region should unite and use reserve funds. This will allow to preserve the building, secure the walls, and put the heating to work in the shortest possible amount of time.
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