"ZAGREB SYNAGOGUE 1867-1942" EXHIBITION OPENS

ZAGREB, Sept 26 (Hina) - An exhibition called Zagreb Synagogue 1867 - 1942 opened at the Forum Gallery in Zagreb on Friday evening on the occasion and on the eve of the 130th anniversary of the synagogue's consecration. Subtitled Reliquiae Reliquiarum, the exhibition testifies to an attempt to present the history of the Jewish temple, consecrated on 27 September 1867, on the basis of a few preserved documents. The building of the synagogue began in 1866 in Zagreb's Praska Street. It was demolished in 1942. According to Ognjen Kraus, the president of the Jewish Community in Croatia and the Coordination of Jewish Communities of Croatia, the synagogue was the first representative building of Zagreb's old town. A brochure on the exhibition written by Snjeska Knezevic tells us that the synagogue was built by renowned Zagreb architect Franjo Klein. The temple, she writes, belongs to the Moorish style typical of representative synagogues built in cities of Central Europe in the middle of the 19th century. Today, the site of the former temple is a parking lot. Kraus said the Jewish Community hopes a multi-functional centre will be built there in the near future, which would include a memorial synagogue, as well as a Jewish Centre and a museum. (hina) ha 262235 MET sep 97