page_title: History of the Jews in Bosnia and Herzegovina
section_title: Synagogues
hierarchical_section_title: History of the Jews in Bosnia and Herzegovina / Culture / Synagogues
caption_attribution_description: Српски / srpski: Синагога Бејт Шалом - Кућа мира. Аутор: Бранко Д. Тодоровић
context_page_description: The history of Jews in Bosnia and Herzegovina spans from the arrival of the first Bosnian Jews as a result of the Spanish Inquisition to the survival of the Bosnian Jews through the Yugoslav Wars and the Holocaust. Judaism and the Jewish community in Bosnia and Herzegovina has one of the oldest and most diverse histories in the former Yugoslav states, and is more than 500 years old, in terms of permanent settlement. Then a self-governing province of the Ottoman Empire, Bosnia was one of the few territories in Europe that welcomed Jews after their expulsion from Spain.
  At its peak, the Jewish community of Bosnia numbered between 14,000 and 22,000 members in 1941. Of those, 12,000 to 14,000 lived in Sarajevo, comprising 20% of the city's population.
  Today, there are an estimated 1,000 Jews living in Bosnia and Herzegovina, recognised as a national minority. They enjoy excellent relations with their non-Jewish neighbors.
context_section_description: The oldest synagogues in Bosnia and Herzegovina were built by the Sephardi community in the XVI century.
  During the Austro-Hungarian period, the new Ashkenazi community also built their own temples, often adopting the Moorish Revival architectural style, as in the case of Sarajevo's Ashkenazi Synagogue. Most of them were destroyed during World War Two, including Sarajevo's Il Kal Grande.
  Four synagogues remain in Sarajevo:
  The Old Temple (Stari Hram, also known as Sijavuš-pašina daira or Velika Avlija): A Sephardi synagogue together with a large inn named the Great Courtyard is known to have been built in 1581 with the donation of Turkish Beylerbey Sijamush Pasha to help the poor members of the Jewish community in Sarajevo. It endured two fires in 1697 and 1768. The temple's current looks stems from restoration/renovations in 1821. It now serves as a Jewish museum.
  The New Temple (Novi Hram/Kal Nuevo): Built alongside the Old Temple, today it serves as an art gallery owned by the Jewish community of Sarajevo.
  The Bjelave Synagogue (Kal Di La Bilava): During WW2 the building was confiscated by the Ustaše and was used as a detention facility.
  The Ashkenazi Synagogue: Designed by Karel Pařík and built in 1902 for the growing Ashkenazi community in the Moorish Revival architectural style.
  In the rest of the country some synagogue buildings have been preserved and renovated (such as in Doboj) but they do not host services.
  The Jewish cultural center Arie Livne was opened in Banja Luka in 2015.
caption: Synagogue in Doboj
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