Grand Synagogue of Edirne, is a historic Sephardi synagogue located in Maarif Street of Edirne, Turkey. It was designed in the Moorish Revival style and restored in 2015.
HISTORY
The 1905 Great Fire of Edirne destroyed more than 1,500 houses and also damaged several synagogues in the city. The twenty-thousand strong Jewish community urgently needed a place of worship. Following the permission of the Ottoman Government and the edict of Sultan Abdul Hamid II, the construction of a new synagogue began on January 6, 1906 at the site of the ruined synagogues Mayor and Pulya in Suriçi (Citadel) neighborhood. It was designed by the French architect France Depré in the architectural style of the Sephardi Leopoldstädter Tempel in Vienna, Austria. Costing 1,200 gold coins, it was opened to service on the eve of Pesach in April 1909. Capable of accommodating up to 1,200 worshipers, 900 men and 300 women, it was Europe’s third largest temple and the largest in Turkey.