Hurva Synagogue

Common card · No. 440861

The Hurva Synagogue (Hebrew: בית הכנסת החורבה, romanized: Beit ha-Knesset ha-Hurva, lit. 'The Ruin Synagogue'), also known as Hurvat Rabbi Yehudah he-Hasid (Hebrew: חורבת רבי יהודה החסיד, lit. 'Ruin of Rabbi Judah the Pious'), is an Orthodox Jewish congregation and synagogue, located in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem. It was originally founded in the early 18th century by followers of Judah HeHasid on the ruins of a 15th century synagogue and adjacent to the 14th century Sidna Omar mosque, but it was destroyed in 1721 by local lenders over a debt dispute. The plot became known as "The Ruin", or Hurva, where it lay desolate for 116 years until it was resettled in 1837 by members of the Ashkenazi Jewish community, known as the Perushim. In 1856, the Ottoman Sultan Abdelmecid issued a firman authorizing the construction of a synagogue at the site, and the sultan's chief architect, Assad Bey, designed it and oversaw its construction. Construction began in 1864, and although...

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