Mostar Synagogue is a national monument of BiH. According to the archival records from 1570, the first Jewish settlers in Mostar were Sephardic Jews exiled from Spain, Daniel Rodriguez, and Moshe Kohen. The Ashkenazi arrived in the 19th century and together with the earlier Jewish settlers created the joint Jewish denominational municipality, as the first such community in Europe. The Synagogue in Mostar existed as early as the 1889, converted from a building that was previously used for storing hay. Because of the lack of space there was a need to build a larger building, so a Construction committee was established, with David Kohn, David Frommer and L. Rosenfeld as members.
Record of a construction of a new synagogue in Brankovac neighbourhood, with full documentation, was made on 7 June 1904. In terms of style, the synagogue belonged to the period of historicism, or the very beginnings of the Pseudo-Moorish style. The building has a rectangular layout with a semi-circular apse on the east side. The entrance is at the facade as well as two pairs of elongated arched windows. The building has a cornice stretching along the entire circumference, except on the facade, where we have a frieze with decorations representing stylised rib-like endings. In addition to these elements, the facade bears three stone obelisks. The synagogue was partially destroyed in the Second World War. After that it has been rebuilt and converted for the needs of the Puppet Theatre of Mostar and two more wings were added. It has been damaged in the last war and, following a thorough reconstruction in 1996, it has been in use again, as theatre.
(Željka Šaravanja)
