The Synagogue of the Monasteriotes

The Synagogue of the Monasteriotes was founded with a donation by Ida Aroesti to the memory of her husband Isaac. Families from Monastir in Yugoslavia who had settled in Thessaloniki after the Balcan Wars (1912-1913) and World War I (1914-1918), also contributed to the Synagogue's building and furnishing.
The foundations were laid in 1925 and construction lasted two years.
The Synagogue was officially dedicated by the Chief Rabbi of Thessaloniki Chaim Raphael Habib on 27 Elul 5687 (1927).
During the Nazi occupation the Monasteriotes' Synagogue was the center of the ghetto that was created in the inner city. When the entire Jewish population was deported to the death camps, the Synagogue was used by the Red Cross as a warehouse, thus avoiding destruction by the Nazis.
Immediately after the liberation in November 1944, the few Jews that had been saved by Christian friends and those who had joined the National Resistance Forces found refuge in this Synagogue. When normal Community life was restored it became the central Synagogue of Thessaloniki.
In June 1978 the earthquake that shook the city caused extensive damage to the building and its services were suspended until the delicate task of its restoration was completed, with funds provided by the Greek Government that considered it as one of the historical monuments of Thessaloniki.
Today it is in operation for the religious needs of the Thessaloniki Jews.

INFO: 35 Syggrou St, Tel.: +302310.275.701, Mon- Fri: 10:00-15:00, Wed: 10:00-15:00 and 17:00-20:00, Sun: 10:00-14:00, Sat: closed

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