Novi Sad Synagogue

The Novi Sad Synagogue (Новосадска синагога) is a former Neolog Jewish congregation and synagogue, located on Jevrejska (Jewish) Street, in the city center of Novi Sad, in the province of Vojvodina, Serbia. Completed in 1909, the building was used as a synagogue until c. 1966; and subsequently used as cultural center since 2012. During its use, with a capacity of 900 worshipers, the synagogue was one of the largest synagogues in Central Europe.

The Novi Sad Synagogue was added to Spatial Cultural-Historical Units of Great Importance list in 1991, and it is protected by Republic of Serbia.

History
On the site of the contemporary former synagogue, from 1749 until 1906, there were four synagogues. As the Jewish community developed, it tended to build new synagogues on the site of the former synagogue. The fourth was an exception. It was built in 1826 and ruined during the Riot bombing in 1849. The first synagogue was not on the site of the current edifice, but at the Kralja Aleksandra Street, dated from earlier than 1717.

The former synagogue became a major project for the entire Jewish community of Novi Sad, on which construction began in 1905 and was completed in 1909. Projected by Hungarian architect Lipót Baumhorn, it was part of a bigger complex of buildings that included, on both sides of the synagogue, two edifices decorated in a similar pattern; one building served as the Jewish school and other as offices of the Jewish community, including a mikvah, slaughterhouse, school, retirement home, and an orphanage.

Designed in the eclectic Hungarian Secession and Hungarian Art Nouveau styles, the building combines medieval elements with those borrowed from Hungarian folk culture. The three-aisled main sanctuary space is topped by a 130 ft high Renaissance-inspired dome with stained glass in its cupola. Two fanciful towers flank the grandiose entrance façade, which features a large rose window under an arch.

More than 4,000 Jews lived in Novi Sad before the Second World War, out of a total population of 80,000. Approximately 1,000 Jews from Novi Sad survived the Holocaust that followed the German invasion of Yugoslavia in 1941 and the annexation of Bačka region by Hungary.

In the 1940s Jews from Novi Sad were imprisoned in the synagogue before their deportation to Nazi death camps. The building was also used as a storehouse for furniture and other possessions left behind by the city's Jews. After the war, the building was reused as a synagogue until c. 1966.

After WWII and following the Yugoslav Wars from 1991 to 2001, many Jews moved to Israel or countries that offer more economic opportunity. The synagogue was partially renovated in the early 1990s. Since 2012, the former synagogue has been used for concerts and performances, as well as for the celebration of major Jewish holidays. , an estimated 640 Jews were living in Novi Sad and the former synagogue was in need of significant repairs.