Nykstantis kultūros paveldas: Lietuvos sinagogų architektūra

LTSinagoga Lietuvoje - jau baigiantis išnykti architektūros objektas. Kitaip nei kitų pastatų, sinagogų architektūros raida vyko specifinėmis sąlygomis ir stilių formos jose atsispindėjo ribotai. Iki šiol Lietuvos architektūros istorijos moksle šių sakralinių pastatų vieta nėra apibrėžta; nenustatytas jų kompozicijos santykis su kitais sakraliniais pastatais bei gretimų šalių sinagogomis.Sinagogų architektūra Lietuvoje tyrinėta tik fragmentiškai. Tarpukariu profesorius P. Galaunė parengė nedidelės apimties studiją apie sinagogas lietuvių liaudies meno kontekste1, o Ch. Lemchenas parašė straipsnį apie medinę Pakruojo sinagogą2. Ekspedicijų po Lietuvą metu medinių barokinių sinagogų inventorizacija nebuvo atlikta. Tik vienos - Šaukėnų sinagogos dalinius apmatavimus atliko V. Vaitkus3. Po Antrojo pasaulinio karo sinagogomis domėtasi dar mažiau. Lietuvai atgavus Nepriklausomybę, suaktyvėjo sakralinio paveldo (ypač katalikų bažnyčių) tyrimai. Vilniaus Didžiąją sinagogą tyrinėjo hab. dr. A. Jankevičienė4, sinagogos minimos leidinio „Lietuvos architektūros istorija“ II ir III tomuose. Kitų šalių mokslininkai domėjosi tik pavieniais objektais, dažniausiai Vilniaus Didžiąja ir medinėmis baroko epochos sinagogomis. Apie Lietuvos sinagogų architektūrą kelis straipsnius parašė ir šios monografijos autorė5. Lietuvos sinagogos - žydų maldos namai yra ir šio darbo tyrimų objektas. [Iš Įvado]Reikšminiai žodžiai: Lietuvos istorija; Žydai; Miestai; Miesteliai; Sinagogos; Architektūra; Rekosntrukcijos; Paveldas; The Lithuanian history; Jews; Cities; Townships; Synagogues; Architecture; Reconstructions; Heritage.

ENThe object of the study is Lithuanian synagogues, Jewish houses of prayer; the time covered is from the 14th century to the Second World War; the area is the Republic of Lithuania. The main object of the study is architecture; therefore, the concept “synagogue” is used as a common noun, and not in the sense of the buildings’ hierarchy. The concepts “Jewish prayer house”, “kloyz”, and (during the tsarist period) “Jewish religious school” are used in parallel. Though the status of these buildings is lower than that of the synagogue, their plan, structure and interior furnishings are identical. That is why all these concepts in an architectural context become synonyms, or are used as synonyms. The building of synagogues in Lithuania has clear chronological bounds, from the Jewish settlers in the 14th century till the Second World War. In this study the architecture of the present Republic of Lithuania is researched. All changes in the form of architecture and the building of synagogues are covered. The reasons that inspired these changes are examined. The synagogue is investigated as the most important Judaic institution, the architecture of which was influenced by the liturgy, Solomonic Temple and other sacred buildings. In Lithuania, as elsewhere in the diaspora, the synagogue is a polysemantic object that experienced a process of assimilation; it contains a complicated semantic system and a distinctive exotic character. Synagogues in Lithuania once made up one of the most numerous groups of sacred buildings. Until the Second World War there were around 500 to 600 different Jewish prayer houses in the present Republic of Lithuania; only in Vilnius were there about one hundred. Now only two operating synagogues and about 60 former Jewish prayer houses, that during the postwar period were transformed into sports halls, warehouses or industrial departments, remain.The synagogue is a vanishing type of architecture in Lithuania. Unlike other buildings, the development of synagogue architecture went on in specific circumstances, and the forms of different styles were insufficiently reflected in them. Up to now, the place of these sacred buildings in the study of Lithuanian architecture has not been defined; the relation between their composition and other sacred buildings and the synagogues of neighbouring countries has not been determined. The purpose of the work is to investigate the distinctive architecture of synagogues from historical, architectural and liturgical points of view; and to compare them to sacred buildings of other confessions in Lithuania and to synagogues in other European countries. Historical and iconographical material was collected in academic institutions and museums in Lithuania and Poland. Site visits to and photographs of surviving Lithuanian synagogues were made, and the most characteristic objects were selected. In systematising the material, the buildings were classified according to styles and periods, building materials, authenticity and present function. Former styles or signs of them, from Gothic to the interwar period, were discovered. A scientific analysis was made into the limits of every style or period, researching common traits and their dependence upon specific conditions or influences. The urgency of the work. Disused synagogues are threatened buildings, so it is important to investigate them and restore their authentic architecture. On the basis of iconographical material, threatened synagogues were researched; this sacred heritage, that had common points of contact in many European countries, is important to architectural science.The scientific importance of the work. This complete research of the architecture of synagogues is based upon archival and iconographical data. The subject is analysed in a broad historical context, revealing its specific origin and peculiarities. The tendencies in building synagogues in European countries and the specific forms of the expression of the architecture’s stylistics are characterised. The process of the building of synagogues and its development in Lithuania from the settlement of Jews till the Second World War is revealed. In this work, for the first time, the architecture of Lithuanian synagogues in stylistic epochs and periods is elucidated in general, looking for sources and transformations of solutions in the Old Testament, in changes in liturgy, in Oriental architecture and in the process of assimilation. The structure of the work. The text is made up of the introduction, two chapters, conclusions and a list of terms. Illustrations are reproduced at the end. These include old photographs and photographs of projects of surviving buildings, drawings of measurements, tables of typology and four maps of the Republic of Lithuania, supplementing each other, with the synagogues marked. [From the publication]

• Menotyra / Arts
• Istorija / History