Residents of Šiauliai in northern Lithuania are concerned about the fate of the only surviving Jewish synagogue in the city. The heritage site has been abandoned, and neither the owner nor the city authorities are willing to maintain it.
The two-storey red brick synagogue was built in Šiauliai in 1907 by the famous Jewish industrialist Chaim Frenkel. The house of worship was intended for factory workers. However, the heritage site has been in decline for many years.
“This synagogue was very important. All the workers from the factory used to go to this synagogue to pray. [...] It really needs to be preserved because it is interesting, unique, and reminds us of the large Jewish community that existed in the past,” says Raimundas Balza, head of Šiauliai Aušra Museum.
According to historians, around 20 synagogues may have operated in Šiauliai a century ago. Only one has survived to this day. The question of preserving the synagogue has been raised for several years by a member of the city council.
“The municipality has unlimited administrative, financial and human resources, but from their answers, I get the impression that I or a few other individuals should care about this,” said Zakiras Medžidovas, a member of the Šiauliai City Council.
The city authorities refused to talk to LRT about the preservation of the synagogue. According to them, the state-protected object belongs to a Šiauliai businessman. The latter once considered establishing a museum there but no longer has such plans. His representative said that it would be too expensive to restore the building.
When Lithuania regained its independence, it was proposed that the Jewish community take over the synagogue in Šiauliai. According to them, the community is too small to take care of the heritage building but would like for it to be preserved.
“One thing is that the community is small, and the second thing is that the community is financially incapable of maintaining such a building, let alone renovating it or restoring it in any way,” said Sania Kerbelis, head of the Jewish Community of Šiauliai County.
The historians are convinced that it is necessary to preserve the only remaining synagogue in Šiauliai. According to the Department of Cultural Heritage, the restoration of the building would not be cheap, but part of the costs would be reimbursed by the state.
“The owner could apply for reimbursement after the reconstruction studies and works have been carried out. The studies are reimbursed at 100 percent, while the preparation of the project and the restoration works are reimbursed at 30 to 50 percent,” said Sonata Sukožauskienė, a representative of the department.
Heritage conservationists say they cannot oblige owners to restore heritage objects. As a result, some of the historical buildings are being left in disarray. Several such objects are removed from the list of cultural heritage sites every year.
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