Choral Synagogue, Kharkiv
Europe's second-largest synagogue with a 42-metre dome — from the competition design “The Hebrew Letter”.
The design by the St Petersburg architect Yakov Gevirts under the motto The Hebrew Letter won the all-russian competition of 1909; the Kharkiv architect Valentyn Feldman led construction. The cornerstone was laid on 30 May 1910, the first services were held in 1912 and the official opening came in summer 1913. The building covers 2,067 square metres and the dome rises 42 metres: at completion it was the third-tallest structure in Kharkiv, and today the synagogue is considered the second largest in Europe after Budapest's. It was closed in 1923, returned to the community in 1990, and restored to a design by Volodymyr Novhorodov by 2003. In spring 2022 a missile strike on the neighbouring shopping centre cost the building part of its glazing.
12 Hryhorii Skovoroda Street. An active synagogue, free entry, arrange visits with the community. Central Kharkiv is under regular strikes.