A Tale of Two Jewish Communities

The Jewish community in Lvov can be traced back to the 14th century. Jews from Turkey, Khazaria and Byzantium began coming to Lvov even before that. Depending on who was in charge Jews either had extensive rights or very few. Those fleeing persecution elsewhere came to Lvov and were prosperous merchants and artists. There were two Jewish communities, one inside the city walls and one outside.

There is some evidence that Jews were living in Lvov from the 10th century and came from such places as Byzantium, Asia Minor, Khazaria and became traders like the Armenians. By the 19th century Jews owned 265 of 290 stores and there was a Jewish hospital which still functions but is no longer Jewish. Jews could study at the university and a liberal Jewish community came into existence alongside the religious one. In the years between WWI and WWII the Jewish population was 1/3 of the total population, over 100,000 people and by the early days of WWII the Jewish population swelled to 200,000 with refugees pouring in. What happened to the Jewish community of Lvov is one more piece of a tragedy.

The Golden Rose synagogue existed on this site beginning in 1571, built in a Gothic style. This is the location that the Jesuits claimed and wanted to erect a church here but the rabbi persuaded them to build elsewhere. The remains of the synagogue are alongside a Holocaust memorial.

You can still make out some color on the wall where it was painted and there are some Hebrew letters though deciphering them is impossible. This is the oldest known synagogue in Ukraine and there are some working on reconstructing the building as it was. It is now a UNESCO World Heritage site.

At one end of the remains you can see what is likely the place where the ark would have been that held the torah scrolls.

Stone in the center may have been the ritual bath.

Model of the Golden Rose as it looked in the 16th century.

The model of the Golden Rose synagogue stands in front of this restaurant that claims to serve Jewish themed foods and asks diners to bargain for their meal. Many people find this offensive, catering to stereotypes and disrespectful considering the tragedy that befell the community here.

Walking through the former Jewish neighborhood near the Golden Rose synagogue one would never know that a vibrant community existed here.

A subtle reminder that this was once a Jewish home, the mark of where the mezuzah had been. A mezuzah has a small scroll inside with a sacred prayer that is affixed to the doorpost of the house, identifying it as a Jewish house.

On the other side of town, a small synagogue was built in the 19th century for the more prosperous and less observant Jewish community. It functioned until the Nazis converted it into a garage (notice the large opening under the second window from the left). The Soviets in their turn abandoned the building. It is currently abandoned though there is some interest in preserving it perhaps as a museum.

This plaque talks about the second Jewish community outside the walls of the old city. The location of this synagogue is now a park and this plaque is one of the only bits of evidence that the building or the community ever existed.

This store was once a Jewish shop selling hats.

Walking through this neighborhood that now has little evidence of the vibrant Jewish community that once was is poignant. It's not a phoenix but feels like one.