Kaunas Ohel Jaakov Choral Synagogue
The only surviving and functioning synagogue in Kaunas was built in 1870 at the initiative of the first guild merchant Mr. Minkowski according to the project of the engineer Mr. Golinevičius. The synagogue is known as choral because ceremonies there are accompanied by a chorus.
According to the urban planning rules in force at that time, synagogues were to be kept away from orthodox and other churches. The synagogue is a composite rectangular building with plastered masonry and a triple protruding wall facing aron codesh on the east side and three entrances on the west side. At the entrance to the synagogue, the neo-baroque pediment ends with a massive turret dome adorned with a hexagonal Star of David. In the central part of the synagogue's prayer hall is bima a skylight-lit octagonal elevation for Torah reading, enclosed by an openwork metal fence. Aron kodesh, a multi-level cupboard that holds the Torah (the Old Testament), is located at the eastern wall. The interior is decorated with plant and animal patterns typical of Jewish art, and the space is divided into a men's (main) hall and women's galleries on the second floor. It is a Neo-Baroque building of the Historicist period.