In the very center of Jalija (Dor\u0107ol) stood the Old Synagogue, known as El Kal Vije\u017eu. It was built around 1690, probably on the foundations of older structures. It was a single-nave building, 36 meters long and 8 meters wide, with a hipped roof, an apse facing south, and nine arched windows on the eastern and western sides.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The synagogue was entered from today\u2019s Solunska Street, and above the northern side there was a gallery intended for women. El Kal Vije\u017eu was not only a place of worship; it was the center of the entire community\u2014a gathering place, administrative center, school, and court known as the bet din.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In its courtyard, Jewish merchants gathered, and the everyday life of the community was closely tied to this synagogue. Over the centuries, it was repeatedly damaged by fires and war destruction, especially during the Austro-Turkish wars, but it was persistently rebuilt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In this synagogue, on June 29, 1908, one of the most beautiful birthday greetings dedicated to King Peter I Kara\u0111or\u0111evi\u0107 was read, which, among other things, stated:
\u201cGrant, O Lord, our King a long and happy life\u2026 Grant, O Lord, every good to this land, in which Serbian Jews are regarded as brothers and can freely glorify the name of the Lord in their own temple. Grant, O Lord, that the wish of all Serbs be fulfilled\u2014that under the scepter of His Majesty King Peter, the entire Serbian people be united.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The last major reconstruction took place in 1819, when Prince Milo\u0161 Obrenovi\u0107 personally donated a large chandelier. During World War II, the synagogue was partially damaged, and after the war, in 1952, it was finally demolished.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The words of lawyer David Dacha Alkalaj about its demolition remain memorable:
\u201cI was saddened. I searched for Jalija\u2014not the real one, but in the shadow of its past. Its shadow. I was astonished\u2014the Old Synagogue had disappeared\u2026 It is a monument not only Jewish, but also Jalija\u2019s, Belgrade\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The synagogue was not rebuilt, for two key reasons: the enormous human losses among Jews during the Holocaust meant that the number of worshippers was almost nonexistent, and in the communist ideology of the time, religion was considered outdated, and religious buildings were not seen as worthy of preservation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Today, a residential building stands on the site where the Old Synagogue once stood.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Erased from the map of Belgrade in 1952, the Old Synagogue (El Kal Vije\u017eu) lives on today only in the \u201cshadow of its past,\u201d as a lasting symbol of the former life of Dor\u0107ol\u2019s Jewish community.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":153,"template":"","monument_category":[29],"class_list":["post-254","monument","type-monument","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","monument_category-serbia"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/walkandlearn.rs\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/monument\/254","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/walkandlearn.rs\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/monument"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/walkandlearn.rs\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/monument"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/walkandlearn.rs\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/monument\/254\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":287,"href":"https:\/\/walkandlearn.rs\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/monument\/254\/revisions\/287"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/walkandlearn.rs\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/153"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/walkandlearn.rs\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=254"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"monument_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/walkandlearn.rs\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/monument_category?post=254"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}