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58-653: Neo-Mudéjar is a type of Moorish Revival architecture practised in the Iberian Peninsula and to a far lesser extent in Ibero-America . This architectural movement emerged as a revival of Mudéjar style . It was an architectural trend of the late 19th and early 20th centuries that began in Madrid and Barcelona and quickly spread to other regions in Spain and Portugal. It used Mudéjar style elements such as

116-532: A Jewish "intellectual golden age" but in a time and place where "the local Jewish population was equal to or even greater than the Christian population. In the second half of the 16th century masonry synagogues whose interiors present an original structural solution, found in no other kind of building, were constructed in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. These were synagogue halls whose bimah

174-643: A hippodrome, rollercoaster, observation deck for the surrounding desert, and what was marketed as the largest dance hall in the world. Like Iranistan before it, Saltair was destroyed by fire in 1925 and again in 1970; the first of which, less than 30 years after opening. The trend continued into the early 1900s, for example in the 1909 Murat Shrine Temple in Indianapolis, Indiana . The 1914 Pittock Mansion in Portland, Oregon incorporates Turkish design features, as well as French, English, and Italian ones;

232-481: A long period until the early 20th century. In Spain, the country was conceived as the place of origin of Moorish ornamentation, and the interest in this sort of architecture fluctuated from province to province. The mainstream was called Neo-Mudéjar . In Catalonia , Antoni Gaudí 's profound interest in Mudéjar heritage governed the design of his early works, such as Casa Vicens or Astorga Palace . In Andalusia,

290-572: A primitive faith. According to Diana Muir Appelbaum , they were expressions of Jewish identity intended to advertise Jewish origins in ancient Israel. In medieval Spain (both Al-Andalus and the Christian kingdoms), a host of synagogues were built, and it was usual to commission them from Moorish and later Mudéjar architects. Very few of these medieval synagogues, built with Moorish techniques and style, are conserved. The two best known Spanish synagogues are in Toledo , one known as El Tránsito ,

348-472: Is little that dictates the design. Historically, synagogues were normally built in a version of the prevailing architectural style of their time and place. Thus, the synagogue in Kaifeng, China looked very like Chinese temples of that region and era, with its outer wall and open garden in which several buildings were arranged. The ark may be more or less elaborate, even a cabinet not structurally integral to

406-714: The Ibero-American Exposition of 1929 in Seville , another stream of Neo-Mudéjar features appeared known as Andalusian Architectural Regionalism. The Plaza de España (Seville) or the ABC newspaper headquarters (Madrid) are examples of this new style that combined traditional Andalusian architecture with Mudéjar features. Moorish Revival architecture The "Moorish" garden structures built at Sheringham Park in Norfolk, ca. 1812, were an unusual touch at

464-577: The Ottoman Empire or the growing pan-Slavic movement by creating an " Islamic architecture of European fantasy". This included application of ornamentations and other Moorish design strategies neither of which had much to do with prior architectural direction of indigenous Bosnian architecture . The central post office in Sarajevo , for example, follows distinct formal characteristics of design like clarity of form, symmetry, and proportion while

522-682: The Pena Palace in Sintra ), the Neo-Mamluk Dulber palace in Koreiz , and the palace in Likani exemplified the continuing development of the style. Another exception was Bosnia , where, after its occupation by Austria-Hungary , the new authorities commissioned a range of Neo-Moorish structures. The aim was to promote Bosnian national identity while avoiding its association with either

580-683: The Sammezzano , one of Europe's largest and most elaborate Moorish Revival structures, in Tuscany between 1853 and 1889. Although Carlo Bugatti employed Moorish arcading among the exotic features of his furniture, shown at the 1902 exhibition at Turin , by that time the Moorish Revival was very much on the wane almost everywhere. A notable exception was Imperial Russia , where the shell-encrusted Morozov House in Moscow (a stylisation of

638-513: The golden age of Jewry in Al-Andalus . As a consequence, Moorish Revival spread around the globe as a preferred style of synagogue architecture, although Moorish architecture is by no means Jewish, either in fact or in feeling. The Alhambra has furnished inspiration for innumerable synagogues, but seldom have its graceful proportions or its delicate modeling and elaborate ornamentation been successfully copied. Moorish style, when adapted by

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696-481: The hekhal ( היכל ) by Sephardic Jews . Synagogues are buildings for congregational worship, and thus require a large central space (as do churches and mosques ). They are generally designed with the Torah ark at one end, typically opposite the main entrance, and a bimah either in front of that, or more centrally placed. Raised galleries, usually for female worshipers, have been common. Beyond these points, there

754-669: The horseshoe arch , arabesque tiling, and abstract shaped brick ornamentations for the façades of modern buildings. The first examples of Neo-Mudéjar buildings were the Aguirre School designed by Rodríguez Ayuso, the Plaza de Toros in Madrid built in 1874 (now demolished), and the Casa Vicens by Antoni Gaudí i Cornet . The style then became almost "compulsory" for the construction of bullfight rings all around Spain, Portugal and

812-913: The 1860s, the style spread across America, with Olana , the painter Frederic Edwin Church 's house overlooking the Hudson River, Castle Garden in Jacksonville and Longwood in Natchez, Mississippi usually cited among the more prominent examples. After the American Civil War, Moorish or Turkish smoking rooms achieved some popularity. There were Moorish details in the interiors created for the Henry Osborne Havemeyer residence on Fifth Avenue by Louis Comfort Tiffany . The most thorough example of Moorish Revival architecture

870-836: The Ashkenazi was believed to have been a reference to the Golden Age of Spanish Jewry, it was not the primary intention of the Jews and architects who chose to build in the Moorish style. Rather, the choice to use the Moorish style was reflective of pride in their Semitic or oriental heritage. This pride in their heritage and understanding of Jews as "semitic" or "oriental" led architects like Gottfried Semper ( Semper Synagogue Dresden, Germany) and Ludwig Förster (Tempelgasse or Leopoldstädter Tempel , Vienna, Austria and Dohány Street Synagogue , Budapest, Hungary) to build their synagogues in

928-516: The Cochin synagogues in Kerala of far southwestern India. Here, on the gallery level and adjacent to the space provided for women and overlooking the sanctuary below, is a second tevah. This tevah was used for holidays and unique occasions. It is therefore interesting that on more special events, the women are closest to the point where the religious service is being led. In Baghdadi synagogues of India,

986-603: The Hispanoamerican countries. In Madrid it became one of its most representative styles of the period, not only for public buildings, like the Aguirre School or the bullring of Las Ventas , but also for housing. The use of cheap materials, mainly brick for exteriors, made it a popular style in new neighborhoods. Neo-Mudéjar was often combined with Neo-Gothic by architects such as Francisco de Cubas , Antonio María Repullés y Vargas and Francisco Jareño . After

1044-568: The Middle Eastern roots of their history and thus as a way of setting themselves apart from the surrounding Western or Christian society. This came at time when Jews were gaining more freedoms in some European societies and the construction of ostentatious synagogues was possible for the first time, thus provoking a search for a new distinct style of architecture. Historian John M. Efron of the University of California at Berkeley regards

1102-461: The Moorish style. Moorish Style remained a popular choice for synagogues throughout the rest of the 19th and early 20th century. In the modern period, synagogues have continued to be built in every popular architectural style, including Art Nouveau , Art Deco , International style, and all contemporary styles. In the post-World War II period "a period of post-war modernism," came to the fore, "characterized by assertive architectural gestures that had

1160-657: The Neo-Mudéjar style gained belated popularity in connection with the Ibero-American Exposition of 1929 . It was epitomized by Plaza de España of Seville and the Gran Teatro Falla in Cádiz . In Madrid , the Neo-Mudéjar was a characteristic style of housing and public buildings at the turn of the century. In contrast, the 1920s return of interest to the style resulted in such buildings as the bullring of Las Ventas and Diario ABC office. A Spanish nobleman built

1218-592: The United States, Washington Irving 's fanciful travel sketch, Tales of the Alhambra (1832), first brought Moorish Andalusia into readers' imaginations; one of the first neo-Moorish structures was Iranistan , a mansion of P. T. Barnum in Bridgeport, Connecticut . Constructed in 1848 and destroyed by fire ten years later, this architectural extravaganza "sprouted bulbous domes and horseshoe arches". In

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1276-518: The assembled. All synagogues require an amud ( Hebrew for "post" or "column"), a desk facing the Ark from which the Hazzan (reader, or prayer leader) leads the prayers. A synagogue may or may not have artwork; synagogues range from simple, unadorned prayer rooms to elaborately decorated buildings in every architectural style. The synagogue, or if it is a multi-purpose building, prayer sanctuaries within

1334-527: The building (many early modern synagogues of central Europe featured bimahs with pillars that rose to support the ceiling), to elaborate free-standing raised platforms, to simple tables. A ner tamid , a constantly lit light as a reminder of the constantly lit menorah of the Temple in Jerusalem . Many synagogues, mainly in Ashkenazi communities, feature a pulpit facing the congregation from which to address

1392-755: The building of synagogues was permitted, they were built in the prevailing architectural style of the time and place. Many European cities had elaborate Renaissance synagogues, of which a few survive. In Italy, there were many synagogues in the style of the Italian Renaissance (see Leghorn; Padua; and Venice). With the coming of the Baroque era, Baroque synagogues appeared across Europe. The emancipation of Jews in European countries and of Jews in Muslim countries colonized by European countries gave Jews

1450-537: The building or a portable arrangement whereby a Torah is brought into a space temporarily used for worship. There must also be a table, often on a raised platform, from which the Torah is read. The table/platform, called bimah by eastern Ashkenazim, almemmar (or balemmer ) by Central and Western Ashkenazim and tebah by Sephardim, where the Torah is read (and from where the services are conducted in Sephardi synagogues) can range from an elaborate platform integral to

1508-517: The community may face Jerusalem when standing for prayers. The styles of the earliest synagogues resembled the temples of other sects of the eastern Roman Empire. The synagogues of Morocco are embellished with the colored tilework characteristic of Moroccan architecture. The surviving medieval synagogues in Budapest , Prague and the German lands are typical Gothic structures. For much of history,

1566-506: The concept was adopted in various Central European countries. Around the beginning of the 1630s the first synagogues with nine-field vaulting were constructed. This design has a set of four large columns or piers placed squarely in a rectangular central space, supporting three rows of three vaults on the ceiling. They allowed for much greater halls than hitherto and were also called nine-bay synagogues . The Great Suburb Synagogue in Lviv and

1624-426: The constraints of antisemitism and the laws of host countries restricting the building of synagogues visible from the street, or forbidding their construction altogether, meant that synagogues were often built within existing buildings, or opening from interior courtyards. In both Europe and in the Muslim world, old synagogues with elaborate interior architecture can be found hidden within nondescript buildings. Where

1682-464: The field above the bimah. These cupolas were occasionally significantly lowered in comparison with the remaining fields of vaulting. Thus a kind of inner chapel, built inside the bimah-tower, was created. One of the first synagogues with a bimah-support was the Old Synagogue (Przemyśl) , which was destroyed during World War II. Synagogues with a bimah-tower were built up to the 19th century and

1740-586: The hekhals appear to be standard-sized cabinets from the outside (the side facing the sanctuary), but when opened a very large space is revealed. They are essentially walk-in rooms with a perimeter shelf holding up to one hundred sefer Torahs. There are but few emblems that may be used that are characteristically Jewish; the Star of David, the lion of Judah, and flower and fruit forms alone are generally allowable in Orthodox synagogues. The ner tamid hangs in front of

1798-436: The independence of the pitched roof from the design of the interior domed ceiling. They had elaborately carved, painted, domed, balconied and vaulted interiors. The architectural interest of the exterior lay in the large scale of the buildings, the multiple, horizontal lines of the tiered roofs, and the carved corbels that supported them. Wooden synagogues featured a single, large hall. In contrast to contemporary churches, there

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1856-616: The interior followed the same doctrine. The National and University Library of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo is an example of Pseudo Moorish architectural language using decorations and pointed arches while still integrating other formal elements into the design. Other notable example in the region is the building of the Regional historical museum in Kardzhali , Bulgaria build in the 1920s, combining also Central Asian styles. In

1914-422: The interior of the synagogue is an Ark at the eastern end opposite the entrance, and with an almemar or pulpit. In older or Orthodox synagogues with separate seating, there may be benches for the men on either side, and a women's gallery reached by staircases from the outer vestibule. Variations of this simple plan abound: the vestibule became larger, and the staircases to the women's gallery were separated from

1972-591: The mid-19th century, the style was adopted by the Jews of Central Europe , who associated Moorish and Mudéjar architectural forms with the Golden age of Jewish culture in Spain . It has also been argued that Jewish communities adopted this architecture (which in Western eyes was seen as stereotypical of "Islamic" or " Oriental " culture more broadly) for more complex reasons; mainly, as an affirmation or reclamation of

2030-439: The nineteenth and early twentieth century heyday of historicist architecture, however, most historicist synagogues, even the most magnificent ones, did not attempt a pure style, or even any particular style, and are best described as eclectic . Chabad Lubavitch has made a practice of designing some of its Chabad Houses and centers as replicas of or homages to the architecture of 770 Eastern Parkway . The great exceptions to

2088-503: The other as Santa María la Blanca , and are now preserved as national monuments. The former is a small building containing very rich decorations; the latter is especially noteworthy. It is based upon Almohad style and contains long rows of octagonal columns with curiously carved capitals, from which spring Moorish arches supporting the roof. Another significant Mudéjar synagogue is the one at Córdoba built in 1315. As in El Tránsito,

2146-454: The pillars. Egyptian Revival style synagogues were popular in the early nineteenth century. Rachel Wischnitzer argues that they were part of the fashion for Egyptian style inspired by Napoleon's invasion of Europe. According to Carol Herselle Krinsky , they were meant as imitations of the Temple of Solomon and intended by architects and governments to insult Jews by portraying Judaism as

2204-540: The place and time of construction. There is no set blueprint for synagogues and the architectural shapes and interior designs of synagogues vary greatly. According to tradition, the Shekhinah or divine presence can be found wherever there is a minyan , a quorum, of ten. A synagogue always contains an Torah ark where the Torah scrolls are kept, called the aron qodesh ( Hebrew : אָרוֹן קׄדֶש ) by Ashkenazi Jews and

2262-475: The platform in front of the Ark, and elaborate arrangements of steps were provided. The Torah Ark (usually called Aron Hakodesh or Hekhál ) is the most important feature of the interior, and is generally dignified by proper decoration and raised upon a suitable platform, reached by at least three steps, but often by more. It is usually crowned by the Ten Commandments and the Torah. The position of

2320-422: The popularity of Moorish revival architecture among builders of synagogues as a counterpoint to Edward Said 's Orientalism , which criticizes European orientalism as inherently imperialist and racist, since the builders chose the style as an expression of admiration for the culture of the Muslim world. As a consequence, Moorish Revival spread around the globe as a preferred style of synagogue architecture for

2378-400: The pulpit varies; it may be placed on either side of the Ark and is occasionally found in the center of the steps. The modern synagogue, besides containing the minister's study, trustees' rooms, choir-rooms, and organ-loft devote much space to school purposes; generally, the entire lower floor is used for classrooms. The interior treatment of the synagogue allows great latitude in design. For

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2436-656: The right to build large, elaborate synagogues visible from the public street. Synagogue architecture blossomed. Large Jewish communities wished to show not only their wealth but also their newly acquired status as citizens by constructing magnificent synagogues. Handsome nineteenth synagogues form the period of Jewish imagination stand in virtually every country where there were Jewish communities. Most were built in revival styles then in fashion, such as Neoclassical , Neo-Byzantine , Romanesque Revival Moorish Revival , Gothic Revival , and Greek Revival . There are Egyptian Revival synagogues and even one Mayan Revival synagogue. In

2494-532: The rule that synagogues are built in the prevailing style of their time and place are the Wooden synagogues in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and two forms of masonry synagogues: synagogues with bimah-support and nine-field synagogues (the latter not totally confined to synagogues). The wooden synagogues were a unique Jewish artistic and architectural form. > Characteristic features include

2552-581: The smoking room in particular has notable Moorish revival elements. In 1937, the Corn Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota added unusual minarets and Moorish domes, unusual because the polychrome decorations are made out of corn cobs of various colors assembled like mosaic tiles to create patterns. The 1891 Tampa Bay Hotel , whose minarets and Moorish domes are now the pride of the University of Tampa ,

2610-843: The strength and integrity to stand alone, without applied artwork or Jewish iconography." A notable work of Art Nouveau , pre– World War I Hungarian synagogue architecture is Budapest 's Kazinczy Street Synagogue . In the UK, synagogues built in the early 1960s, such as a Carmel College (Oxfordshire) in the UK, designed by the British architect,Thomas Hancock, were decorated with the stained glass of windows of Israeli artist, Nehemia Azaz . The stained glass windows were praised by art and architecture scholar Nikolaus Pevsner as using "extraordinary technique with rough pieces of coloured glass like crystals" and by Historic England as "brilliant and innovative artistic glass". The most common general plan for

2668-451: The synagogue in Ostroh were erected virtually at the same time (1625 and 1627). In these halls the vaulting rested on four tall pillars and on corresponding wall pilasters . The columns and the pilasters were situated in equal spacing and dividing the roof-area into nine equal fields. In these synagogues the bimah was a free-standing podium or a bower situated within the central field between

2726-534: The synagogue, are typically designed to have their congregation face towards Jerusalem . Thus sanctuaries in the Western world generally have their congregation face east, while those east of Israel have their congregation face west. Congregations of sanctuaries in Israel face towards Jerusalem. But this orientation need not be exact, and occasionally synagogues face other directions for structural reasons, in which case

2784-477: The thirty-three synagogues of India , American architect and professor of architecture Jay A. Waronker has learned that these buildings tend to follow the Sephardic traditions of the tevah (or bimah, the raised platform where the service is led and Torah read) being freestanding and roughly in the middle of the sanctuary and the ark (called the hekhal by Sephardim and the aron ha-kodesh by Ashkenazim) engaged along

2842-462: The time, a parallel to chinoiserie , as a dream vision of fanciful whimsy, not meant to be taken seriously; however, as early as 1826, Edward Blore used Islamic arches , domes of various size and shapes and other details of Near Eastern Islamic architecture to great effect in his design for Alupka Palace in Crimea , a cultural setting that had already been penetrated by Ottoman architecture . By

2900-546: The vegetal and geometrical stucco decorations are purely Moorish, but unlike the former, the epigraphic texts are in Hebrew. After the expulsion from Spain there was a general feeling among wealthy Sephardim that Moorish architecture was appropriate in synagogues. By the mid-19th century, the style was adopted by the Ashkenazim of Central and Eastern Europe, who associated Moorish and Mudéjar architectural forms with

2958-407: The vestibule and given more importance. As the buildings became larger, rows of columns were required to support the roof, but in every case the basilican form was retained. The Ark, formerly allowed a mere niche in the wall, was developed into the main architectural feature of the interior, and was flanked with columns, covered with a canopy and richly decorated. The almemar in many cases was joined to

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3016-453: The wall that is closest to Jerusalem. The hekhals are essentially cabinets or armoires storing the sefer Torahs. Seating, in the form of long wooden benches, is grouped around and facing the tevah. Men sit together on the main level of the sanctuary while women sit in a dedicated zone on the same level in the smaller synagogues or upstairs in a women's gallery. Interesting architectural and planning exceptions to this common Sephardic formula are

3074-426: The wooden synagogues were unique because, unlike all previous synagogues, they were not built in the architectural style of their region and era, but in a newly evolved and uniquely Jewish style, making them "a truly original folk expression," whose "originality does not lie alone in the exterior architecture, it lies equally in the beautiful and intricate wood carving of the interior." Moreover, while in many parts of

3132-412: The world Jews were proscribed from entering the building trades and even from practicing the decorative arts of painting and woodcarving, the wooden synagogues were actually built by Jewish craftsmen. Art historian Ori Z. Soltes points out that the wooden synagogues, unusual for that period in being large, identifiably Jewish buildings not hidden in courtyards or behind walls, were built not only during

3190-571: Was Villa Zorayda in St. Augustine, Florida , built in 1883 by Franklin W. Smith as a winter home and showplace for the Boston businessman and architectural enthusiast. Today it is a museum, open for tourists. In 1893, The Great Saltair was built on the southern shores of The Great Salt Lake , adjacent to Salt Lake City . Under dozens of Moorish domes and lambrequin, polylobed, and keyhole arches, Saltair housed popular clubs, restaurants, bowling alleys,

3248-657: Was a particularly extravagant example of the style. Other schools with Moorish Revival buildings include David H. Zysman Hall at Yeshiva University in New York City. George Washington Smith used the style in his design for the 1920s Isham Beach Estate in Santa Barbara, California . The Shriners , a fraternal organization, often chose a Moorish Revival style for their Temples. Architecturally notable Shriners Temples include: Synagogue architecture Synagogue architecture often follows styles in vogue at

3306-566: Was no apse . Moreover, while contemporary churches featured imposing vestibules, the entry porches of the wooden synagogues was a low annex, usually with a simple lean-to roof. In these synagogues, the emphasis was on constructing a single, large, high-domed worship space. According to art historian Stephen S. Kayser, the wooden synagogues of Poland with their painted and carved interiors were "a truly original and organic manifestation of artistic expression—the only real Jewish folk art in history." According to Louis Lozowick , writing in 1947,

3364-399: Was surrounded by four pillars. Placed upon a podium, connected above by arcading , in one powerful pier, the pillars constituted the bimah-support (or bimah-tower ) supporting the vault, consisting of four barrels with lunettes intersecting at the corners. The bases of the vault-rips rested on the podium or were transmitted through a balustrade , solid or pierced. A small cupola covered

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