St. Petersburg Grand Choral Synagogue Celebrates 120

This Sunday, more than 2,000 people attended a historical event concluding a series of over 60 events that were attended by nearly 60,000 people – marking the 120th birthday of the Grand Choral Synagogue of St. Petersburg, Russia.

The final event, attended by VIPs such as the Governor, Major, The Chairman of the parliament, the Chief Rabbi, delegations from other religions, the leaders of funds and Jewish organizations, businessmen, rabbis and thousands of community members – presented a remarkable concert by the Philharmonic Orchestra of Petersburg consisting of 60 musicians and accompanied by famous singers and cantors.

During the event a new Torah scroll was inaugurated, and special films created especially for the event were screened.

Although there are 9 other synagogues in Saint-Petersburg, none is comparable in her elegance to the ‘Bolshaya,’ the great Choral Synaguge.

When built in the late 1800s, Saint-Petersburg Jews could rival the most ornate synagogues of Moscow and Kiev.

The original plan was for a synagogue twice her size, however during construction, the Czar ordered to halve its size, so that it wouldn’t overshadow such neighboring structures as the Nikolskiy Cathedral and St. Isidor. The architecture was in the neo-Byzantine style.

Services continued throughout difficult times, including throughout the Siege of Leningrad, when attendance surprisingly increased, despite terrible conditions.

Today, the synagogue offers many activities, including Hebrew and Yiddish classes, chess tournament, Yiddish theatre, a Jewish choir and annual pilgrimages to Israel. It is booked for weddings throughout the year. The synagogue also runs an award-winning kosher restaurant, located next door, and also a supermarket selling kosher food.