The Synagogue

  The origin of the Irkutsk Jewish community dates back to the 1860s and1880s. The increasing number of members led to the necessity of their official registration. The synagogue was at those times the only possible way to do it. The permission to build it was given in 1878. The money was given by the members of the Irkutsk Jewish community. The first service was held in 1879, but the fire destroyed most of the building. The new building was constructed in 1882. In the 1890s there a library founded and attached to the synagogue. In 1932 it was decided to close the synagogue, and the building was employed by government institutions. Now it is again a synagogue.