Mechina of the Yeshiva in Telšiai
The Mechina building was constructed in 1933-34; two storeys were added in 1937 according to a design by Stanislovas Stulginskis. It was designed as a modernist building, featuring vast plastered, undecorated surfaces. However, its facades were articulated with plain stringcourses and slender pilasters, while a steep roof and a large dormer over the attic space echoed traditional Lithuanian town building. Its main entrance, located on the northwestern façade, was surrounded by modernist multi-faceted windows; the staircase was lit by a vertical strip window. A plaster Star of David was set above the main entrance. The Mechina was a three storey building, which combined a prayer hall on the ground floor, four classrooms on the first floor, and offices on the upper one. The flat ceiling of the prayer hall was supported by four rectangular piers, and the bimah stood in between them. The classrooms were probably used for the teaching of the general subjects, while Torah study took place in the prayer hall. The Torah ark stood at the southeastern wall of the hall. Currently it is a three-storey plastered building, which retains the designed division of the facades with pilasters and stringcourses. Its attic has been converted into a regular additional floor. While fenestration of the southwestern façade has largely survived, that of the northeastern façade has been changed, and its modernist elements as well as the Jewish sign have vanished. All frames of the openings were replaced with modern plastic ones.
About this building
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