The Split Synagogue is an

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

, located in

Split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, enter ...

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

. Built in the early 1500s, the synagogue is one of the oldest

Sefardi Sephardic Jews, also known as Sephardi Jews or Sephardim, and rarely as Iberian Peninsular Jews, are a Jewish diaspora population associated with the historic Jewish communities of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) and their descendant ...

c synagogues in use today. Located on a small street called ''Židovski Prolaz'' (Jewish Lane), the synagogue was built into the western wall of

Diocletian's Palace Diocletian's Palace (, ; ) is an ancient Roman palace and fortress complex built at the end of the third century AD by the Roman Emperor Diocletian as his retirement residence. About half of the complex was for Diocletian's personal use, with th ...

by Jews escaping the Inquisition in Spain and Portugal. In 1573, a

Jewish cemetery A Jewish cemetery ( ''beit almin'' or ''beit kvarot'') is a cemetery where Jews are buried in keeping with Halakha, Jewish tradition. Cemeteries are referred to in several different ways in Hebrew, including ''beit kevarot'' (house of s ...

was approved and built on Marjan Hill, which overlooks the city of Split.

History

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

established the city of

Salona Salona (, ) was an ancient city and the capital of the Roman province of Dalmatia and near to Split, in Croatia. It was one of the largest cities of the late Roman empire with 60,000 inhabitants. It was the last residence of the final western ...

just north of modern-day Split in the 1st Century, where Jewish traders and craftsmen settled. Archaeological excavations have discovered artifacts of Jewish origin dating from this period, including a pendant, ceramic oil lamps decorated with menorahs, a fragment of a Jewish sarcophagus marked with a menorah, and a tombstones of a Syrian Jew named Malhos. Further excavations suggest the existence of a synagogue dating back to the time of

Diocletian Diocletian ( ; ; ; 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed Jovius, was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Diocles to a family of low status in the Roman province of Dalmatia (Roman province), Dalmatia. As with other Illyri ...

who was Roman Emperor from 284 to 305. The arrival of the Avars dispersed the community, but it was revived by the 16th century with the arrival of Sephardi Jews from

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. Then there were two groups of Jews: Ponentine (from

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

or Spain) and

Levant The Levant ( ) is the subregion that borders the Eastern Mediterranean, Eastern Mediterranean sea to the west, and forms the core of West Asia and the political term, Middle East, ''Middle East''. In its narrowest sense, which is in use toda ...

ine (from the Ottoman east). After a great fire ravaged an earlier place of worship in 1507, the Jewish community established the current synagogue in the northwest corner of

. One of the most notable members of the community was Daniel Rodriguez (Daniel Rodriga), who established a prosperous warehouse and business transporting goods from the Orient to Venice. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Italian

Fascists Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social h ...

ransacked the synagogue and destroyed various religious objects, books, and scrolls in a bonfire in the town's main square. The

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

s and

Ustaše The Ustaše (), also known by anglicised versions Ustasha or Ustashe, was a Croats, Croatian fascist and ultranationalist organization active, as one organization, between 1929 and 1945, formally known as the Ustaša – Croatian Revolutionar ...

then deported the Jews left in the city, with over 50% perishing by the end of the war. The synagogue was restored after World War II, and subsequently renovated in 1996 and 2015. The building also houses the Jewish community headquarters of Split.

Cemetery

The old Jewish cemetery is located on Mount Marjan, a hill overlooking Split. It was established in 1573, and contains 700 tombstones, the oldest dating from 1717. The tombstones are in the Sephardi tradition, with some shaped like a sarcophagus roof, while others are flat, slightly inclined rectangular slabs. The inscriptions in

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

, although some of the newer monuments contain either Italian or Croatian. The entrance gate to the cemetery is next to a café that had formerly functioned as a

mikveh A mikveh or mikvah (, ''mikva'ot'', ''mikvot'', or (Ashkenazi Hebrew, Ashkenazic) ''mikves'', lit., "a collection") is a bath used for ritual washing in Judaism#Full-body immersion, ritual immersion in Judaism to achieve Tumah and taharah, ...

, and still inscribed with the Jewish prayer ''

Tziduk Hadin Tziduk Hadin () is a prayer recited at a Jewish funeral, immediately after the grave has been filled. The prayer affirms that the Divine Judgment is righteous and perfect. It is followed by Psalm 49. It is not recited on various holidays A ho ...

'' at the entrance. The new Jewish cemetery is located in the city's Lovrinac municipal cemetery, which also contains a Holocaust memorial.

References

External links

* {{Synagogues in Croatia 16th-century synagogues in Europe Religious buildings and structures in Split, Croatia Museums in Croatia Orthodox synagogues in Croatia Sephardi Jewish culture in Croatia Sephardi synagogues

History

Cemetery

See also

References

External links