Old Synagogue

The Old Jewish Temple, also known as the Old Synagogue and the Great Temple (Il Kal Grandi), is the oldest place of worship for Jews in Sarajevo. It was built at the end of the 16th century in the part of town then known as Velika Avlija, a small Jewish neighborhood in Sarajevo’s Baščaršija.

It was engulfed in flames on several occasions, suffering the worst damage in 1697 and again in 1788. After the fire of 1788, which also spread to the Jewish neighborhood and adjacent dwellings, the synagogue’s roof collapsed.

The temple’s current appearance dates from 1813, when it underwent reconstruction.

After Nazi occupation began in 1941, the synagogue was looted and demolished. It was here that Sarajevo’s Jews were detained before being deported to concentration camps. At the end of World War II the temple was used as a repository.

Some time after the war (in 1957) the structure underwent massive reconstruction and in 1966 it became the Jewish Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina and an annex of the Museum of Sarajevo.

Address
Velika avlija Laure Papo Bahorete, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Established
16th century