Il Kal Grande

Summary

Il Kal Grande, also spelled Il Kal Grandi (Judaeo-Spanish: The Great Synagogue) was the place of worship of the Sephardi community in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The large synagogue was constructed in the Moorish Revival style in 1930, by a design of the architect Rudolf Lubinski. It was acknowledged as the largest and most ornate synagogue in the Balkans. It was heavily damaged by the Nazis in 1941 during World War II, and the majority of the Jewish community was murdered in the Holocaust.

Il Kal Grande
Il Kal Grandi
Religion
StatusBosnian Cultural Center
Location
LocationSarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Geographic coordinates43°51′26″N 18°25′19″E / 43.85720171284883°N 18.422037471148602°E / 43.85720171284883; 18.422037471148602
Architecture
Architect(s)Rudolf Lubinski
StyleMoorish Revival
Completed1930
Designated as NHL
Official nameIl Kal Grande, the historic monument
TypeCategory II cultural property
List of National Monuments of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Map

After the war, all the Jews of Sarajevo used the synagogue of the Ashkenazi community.

The exterior of "Il Kal Grande" was restored in a simplified secular form in 1965, and the former dome was replaced with a flat roof. The building was initially used as the Đuro Đaković Workers' University Center and currently as the Bosnian Cultural Center.

Il Kal Grandi interior prior WWII.
Interior view of the synagogue before World War II.

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