APATIN SYNAGOGUE – APATIN

APATIN SYNAGOGUE – APATIN

Once the relatively small Jewish community in Apatin had achieved sufficient economic prosperity to finance the construction of a purpose-built place of worship, funds were raised to undertake this building project. Until then, religious services had been held in a residential property, for which the Jews of Apatin had been paying rent since the second half of the 18th century. The building had been only partially adapted to meet their basic religious needs.

The Jewish place of worship was built in 1885 in the Neo-Gothic style, at what is now 5 Ognjena Price Street. One of the synagogue’s most distinctive features is its polychrome ceiling mural, depicting the two Tablets of the Covenant (Hebrew: Luchot HaBrit), bearing the Ten Commandments written in Hebrew script. The letters are reversed, meaning that the text can only be read using a mirror. This feature makes the Apatin Synagogue unique in the world.

Following the Second World War, the Jewish community in Apatin was almost entirely wiped out, and the synagogue was no longer needed for its original purpose. Of the 60 Jews living in Apatin, 52 perished after being deported to extermination camps in 1944. Consequently, the building was sold to representatives of the Baptist Church in 1955.

The entire façade of the building has remained unchanged. The only alteration was the addition of a cross at its highest point, above the stone plaque depicting the Luchot HaBrit. This symbolically marked the change in the building’s purpose, from a Jewish place of worship to a Baptist church.

The narrower section of the building stands directly on the street building line, which was contrary to the regulations in force at the time. These stipulated that Jewish and Orthodox Christian religious buildings could not be positioned directly along the street frontage, but had to be set back from the street and enclosed by a boundary.

The street-facing façade features two Neo-Gothic windows, with a small circular window, or oculus, positioned between them. The façade is further articulated by two symmetrically arranged pilasters, while the gable is decorated with a series of small arches following its outline. On the southern, courtyard-facing side of the building, there are four cordon windows arranged in a row, as well as the entrance to the synagogue itself. This layout represents a significant departure from traditional religious conventions, according to which the entrance should have been positioned on the western side of the building.

Petra Drapšina Street, Apatin
www.apatin.org.rs/videti-i-iskusiti/razgledanje/religijski-objekti/sinagoga-u-apatinu_69

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