Brodsky Synagogue

Kyiv's grand Choral Synagogue (1898) in Moorish style — reconsecrated in 2000 after decades as a Soviet puppet theatre.

The Brodsky Synagogue — also known as the Choral Synagogue — is one of Kyiv's oldest and most significant Jewish places of worship. Built in 1898 at the initiative of Lazar Brodsky, a prominent Jewish-Ukrainian sugar magnate, it features a striking Moorish-Romantic design: horseshoe arches, oriental ornament, and a grand dome. The 20th century brought severe disruption: Soviet authorities repurposed the building as a puppet theatre, and the Jewish community of Kyiv was devastated by the Holocaust and subsequent emigration. Reconsecrated as a synagogue in 2000, it serves once again as a spiritual home for Kyiv's Jewish community — and stands as a testament to the city's rich and turbulent Jewish history.