The Great Synagogue of Sibiu (Sinagoga Mare din Sibiu) is the main historic synagogue of Sibiu, built at the end of the 19th century as the city’s Jewish community was rapidly growing.
Jewish settlement in Sibiu remained very limited until the middle of the 19th century, but the community expanded steadily after restrictions were eased. By the 1890s, its existing places of worship were no longer sufficient, and community president Josef Schwartz led the effort to raise funds for a much larger synagogue. Hungarian architect Ferenc Szalay was commissioned to design the building, which was completed in 1899 and inaugurated that September.
The synagogue has a rectangular plan with an imposing western façade combining Neo-Gothic and Neo-Romanesque elements. The entrance is framed by tall brickwork and decorative stone details, while the upper façade is crowned by the Tablets of the Law. Inside, galleries run above the side aisles beneath arcades formed as groups of three openings, giving the prayer hall a basilica-like arrangement. A coffered ceiling adds a Neo-Renaissance element above the richly decorated interior, while the Torah ark occupies a semicircular apse at the eastern end.
The main prayer hall is no longer used regularly for worship by Sibiu’s small Jewish community, which uses a prayer room in the community building behind the synagogue, but the historic interior remains accessible to visitors and is also used for cultural and commemorative events.
