| Belgrade Synagogue (Serbian: Београдска синагога / Beogradska sinagoga) is currently the only fully active Jewish place of worship in Serbia, as the beautiful but dilapidated building of the Subotica Synagogue is not approved for public access being a safety hazard, the synagogues in Niš and Novi Sad each belong to the city they are in and are used as a concert hall and a gallery respectively, and the synagogue in Zemun was sold by the Jewish municipality of that suburb of Belgrade to a private entrepreneur who opened first a coffeeshop and later a restaurant in it.
It is located in central Belgrade.
On June 15, 1924 there was a solemn ceremony for the laying of the cornerstone, within which a charter containing texts in Hebrew and Serbian was sealed. The charter was signed by King Alexander and Queen Maria of Yugoslavia. The general construction was finished by November 1, 1925, and once the interior had been completed, the building was finally opened in the summer of 1926, and consecrated by Rabbi Šlang.
The synagogue was built on land bought from the city by the Society of Ashkenazi Jews of Belgrade. According to official plans the building was to house the synagogue, ritual baths, a school, community offices and apartments for the community employees. There had been an older Ashkenazi synagogue in the vicinity of the present one since the 19th century, but it was torn down to make way for new urban development. The synagogue is known in Belgrade as the "Kosmajska Temple", as its address before World War II was Kosmajska Street. The name of the street has since been changed to Maršala Birjuzova Street (Marshal Biryuzov Street).
Traditionally this synagogue had followed the Ashkenazi rite and served a congregation of Belgrade Jews who spoke Yiddish. Today, however, it serves the small, mostly Sephardic, Jewish community remaining in the city following the Holocaust. There are regular services on Friday evenings and Jewish holidays. The rabbi serving this synagogue is the head rabbi of Serbia, Isak Asiel. |