Synagogue Building Complex

Courland (Kurzeme) was the first region of present-day Latvia where Jewish communities began to settle during the 16th century. Over the following centuries, attitudes towards Jews fluctuated, though they were more often unfavourable. Various restrictions were imposed on Jewish residents, and several attempts were made to expel them. Nevertheless, the Jewish population in Courland continued to grow. According to the 1797 census of the Russian Empire, there were 4,581 Jewish men living in Courland, although only 18% resided in towns. This was largely because urban merchants and craftsmen regarded Jewish traders as their principal competitors and actively opposed their settlement, whereas the landed nobility valued the services Jews provided, particularly as intermediaries in the trade of agricultural products.

In time, a thriving Jewish community also developed in Kuldīga. By 1825, the Jewish population of Courland had increased to 20,030 people, of whom 2,330 lived in Kuldīga and its surroundings. In 1897, Kuldīga was home to 2,539 followers of Judaism. The town’s first Jewish boys’ school was established in 1850. By the beginning of the 20th century, Kuldīga had three Jewish schools: a state primary Jewish school, a private Talmud and Torah school, and a private girls’ school. The Jewish community of Kuldīga was almost entirely destroyed during the Second World War.

Kuldīga has preserved a rare complex of Jewish religious buildings consisting of the Great Synagogue, the Small (or Women’s) Synagogue—also known as the Prayer House—and a chapel. The foundation stone of the Great Synagogue was laid in May 1876. The newspaper Goldingenscher Anzeiger reported on 1 January 1877 that construction had been delayed due to a lack of funds. However, in its issue of 3 September the same year, the newspaper expressed gratitude to the local Jewish community and to relatives of Kuldīga’s Jewish families living abroad, whose financial support enabled construction and furnishing of the synagogue to continue.

The building closely resembled the Great Choral Synagogue in Riga, located at 25 Gogol Street and designed by architect Paul von Hardenack, which was destroyed by fire in 1941. The architectural decoration of the Kuldīga synagogue, however, displayed a simpler Neo-Romanesque style. Its original appearance is known from historical photographs.

At the centre of the synagogue’s prayer hall stood the bimah, the raised platform from which the Torah was read. Benches for men were arranged around the sides of the hall, while women were seated near the entrance and in the galleries. At the far end of the hall stood the Aron Kodesh, the sacred ark where the Torah scrolls were kept. Galleries supported by columns lined both sides of the prayer hall and probably also extended across the rear. Their balustrades were richly decorated with meander patterns, Stars of David, and other ornamental motifs characteristic of Jewish religious art.

After the Second World War, this architecturally significant building was used as a grain warehouse. Between 1956 and 1958, it was converted into a cinema, which operated until 2003. In 2009, the Kuldīga City Council decided to transform the synagogue complex into the new home of the Kuldīga Main Library. The library opened to the public on 22 August 2011. During the restoration, historic elements of the synagogue were preserved wherever possible.

The Small Synagogue, or Prayer House, has also been carefully restored. The building has regained its historic exterior appearance, its original architectural façade, and, wherever possible, its authentic interior finishes. The prayer hall is once again illuminated by rows of windows on both sides, while the restored gallery now serves as a venue for exhibitions and other cultural events. The attic has been adapted to accommodate seminar rooms, storage facilities, and other auxiliary spaces.