Hobart Synagogue
synagogue in Tasmania, Australia
The Hobart Synagogue is a heritage-listed synagogue located in 59 Argyle Street, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. The synagogue is the oldest synagogue building in Australia and is a rare example of Egyptian Revival style of synagogue architecture. The Egyptian Revival building was constructed in 1845. The trapezoidal shape of the windows and the columns with lotus capitals are characteristic of the Egyptian Revival style. Currently the Hobart Synagogue has regular Orthodox and Progressive services.
The land on which the synagogue stands was originally part of the garden of former convict Judah Solomon. It has a seating capacity of 150 and features hard benches at the back of the building for the Jewish convicts who in the early days were marched in under armed guard. It is believed to be the only place of Jewish worship in the world with seats set aside for convicts. The synagogue is listed on the Tasmanian Heritage Register.
History
The building of a synagogue was raised as the Hobart Jewish community began to emerge in the 1830s.
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This entry incorporates text from “Hobart Synagogue” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.