Explore Religious Heritage Across Europe

The Choral Ohel Yaakov Synagogue in Kaunas was built in 1872, but its fence dates from 1893. The synagogue, of Neo-Renaissance and Neo-Moorish styles, was built for Progressive Jews by architects Iustin N. Golinevich and Edmund von Mikwitz. The brick building is still used as a synagogue.

The Choral Synagogue is the only Synagogue still functioning in Kaunas. Dating from the 18th century, the present building was built later in 1872-73 under the impulse of Levinas Minkovskis, a Kaunas merchant. The synagogue is called 'Choir' because the rituals it hosts are accompanied by singing.

The Taharot Hakodesh Synagogue, or Choral Synagogue, is the only survivor of 105 to 110 synagogues in Vilnius. Opened in 1903, it survived the Second World War because the Nazi occupiers had a pharmacy there.

The Choral Synagogue in Kharkiv is an Ashkenazi synagogue built between 1909 and 1913 by architect Yakov Gevirts (Gewürz). The synagogue was restored in 2000. This National Romantic brick building still serves as a synagogue.

The Choral Synagogue in Samara is an Ashkenazi synagogue built between 1903 and 1908 by architect Zekman Kleinerman. The synagogue was built in brick in the Neo-Moorish style.

The Grand Choral Synagogue of St. Petersburg is the third-largest synagogue in Europe and it is sometimes referred to as St. Petersburg Synagogue or Bolshaya Sinagoga. It was built between 1880 and 1888, and consecrated in December 1893. The building has a blend of neo-Byzantine and Moorish revival styles with Arabesque motifs.

The Choral Temple was constructed between 1864 and 1866 as a copy of Vienna’s Leopoldstadt-Tempelgasse Great Synagogue, and it was designed by Enderle and Freiwald. The synagogue was damaged in World War II but was restored in 1945. The main hall was recently refurbished in 2015. It is still an active synagogue with daily services.

The Chorin Monastery is a former Cistercian abbey founded in 1258 and embodies the typical brick Gothic style. The monastery was secularised in 1542 with the Reformation and left to decay until the 19th century. Then the ruins were secured and partially reconstructed under the direction of Karl Friedrich Schinkel.

The exact period of the cemetery’s establishment is unknown, but it can be assumed that it emerged in the 19th century. The oldest preserved gravestone dates to the early 19th century. It appears on a cadastral map of 1865.

Christ Church is a splendid Victorian church, built in the decorated style in 1855, when the communities of Brampton and West Melton were growing fast with the expansion of coal mining. The church windows all have delicate and unique tracery and beautiful stained glass, by Whitefriars.