Synagogue G, Romania

Synagogue G is a beautiful yet sombre disused Jewish place of worship in Romania. It has stood sentinel for more than a century; now its doors are closed and its facade is crumbling with the passage of time.

I visited this location during my 2024 Romania Road Trip, the town’s government granted me permission to photograph inside this location.

History of Synagogue G

Jewish communities have been present in this region of Romania since the 17th century, initially living in small villages outside of the township. By the mid-1800s, this town supported a small but active Jewish population. The community expanded over the following decades and established several small synagogues. Around the turn of the 20th century, the community built Synagogue G. After its opening, it served as the principal place of worship for the town’s Orthodox Jews and a community centre for religious instruction and festivals.

In 1944, authorities deported the Jewish population during the Holocaust, sending most to Auschwitz. Tragically, few survived the atrocities there. After the war, the decimated Jewish community included only forty families, which together comprised around two hundred people. With the formation of the State of Israel, many Jews immigrated. By the 1970s, the synagogue was no longer in regular use. It has stood largely untouched for decades.

Inside the Abandoned Synagogue – Architecture and Features

Built in Moorish Revival and Romanesque Revival style, the synagogue follows a rectangular plan typical of modest European Jewish places of worship. The façade is symmetrical, with a central entrance and arched windows on either side. A circular window above the entrance displays a stained glass Star of David.

Inside, the main hall is a single open space. Windows line the walls, and afternoon sun pours in, flooding the space with natural light. The benches are dusty from disuse, strewn with spiderwebs. Occupying almost the whole ceiling, there is a massive Star of David in red, blue, and gold. From the edges hang two large ornate black metal chandeliers. Matching sconces sit at each corner of the bimah (the raised platform where the Torah scroll is read during services).

On the eastern wall lies the ark, which once housed the sacred Torah scrolls. Hanging from the ceiling in front of this is the sanctuary lamp (Ner Tamid). Scattered along the opposing wall are photographs and names of the families lost to the massacres of Auschwitz.