(Jewish Group) Rare 'fortress synagogue' to return to Jewish ownership in Lutsk, Ukraine
A municipality in Ukraine pledged to return to Jewish ownership what’s left of a 17th-century synagogue that the Nazis partially destroyed and the Soviets turned into a sports school.
The building that contains parts of the former Great Synagogue of Lutsk will be gifted to the Jewish Community of Lutsk, a nonprofit that represents Jews there, a city official told the new site Suspilne last week.
The former synagogue is in poor condition, requiring millions of dollars to be renovated. Hanna Matusowska, a local Jewish community leader, said the community will raise funds to renovate the building and reopen it as a synagogue that also functions as a museum.
Robust and fremescent of a medieval castle, the synagogue is one of a few Jewish houses of worship built to also serve as a fortress, according to the London-based Foundation for Jewish Heritage.
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