The Hurva Synagogue. Old city Jerusalem, Jewish quarter, Israel. It was first founded in the early 18th century and destroyed by the Arab Legion in 1948. It has been newly rebuilt in march 2000. ; Shutterstock ID 546798607; Your name (First / Last): Lauren Keith; GL account no.: 65050; Netsuite department name: Online Editorial; Full Product or Project name including edition: Israel Update 2017

Shutterstock / JekLi

Hurva Synagogue

Jerusalem


To the local Jewish community, the reconstructed Hurva Synagogue is a symbol of resilience. The earliest synagogue on this spot was wrecked in the early 18th century, and its 19th-century successor fell during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. The broad-domed edifice standing today was dedicated in 2010, and the best reason to visit is to clamber up the tower for peerless views of the Jewish Quarter's rooftops. It also has the world's largest Torah Ark.

The Hurva Synagogue is included in a combined ticket (adult/child 60/45NIS) of Jewish Quarter sights; enquire at the tourist office.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Jerusalem attractions

1. Hurva Square

0.02 MILES

The beating heart of the Old City's Jewish Quarter, Hurva Sq thrums with life: tourists rustle heritage maps of the city, children scamper around the…

2. Alone on the Walls Museum

0.03 MILES

Close to the large menorah in the Cardo, the Alone on the Walls Museum presents a Jewish perspective on the May 1948 campaign for control over the city,…

3. Herodian Quarter Museum

0.04 MILES

Descend to Jerusalem's ancient bones at this small subterranean museum. Among its impressively intact archaeological sites is a 600-sq-m Herodian-era…

4. Cardo Maximus

0.04 MILES

The Cardo was originally a 22m-wide colonnaded avenue flanked by roofed arcades, the main artery of Roman and Byzantine Jerusalem. Following excavations…

5. Four Sephardi Synagogues

0.06 MILES

This synagogue complex offers a taster of four places of worship, tightly packed together and able to be visited with a single ticket. The two oldest…

6. St Mark’s Chapel

0.06 MILES

This medieval chapel is the home of the small Syrian Orthodox congregation in Jerusalem, who believe that it occupies the site of the home of St Mark’s…

7. Burnt House

0.08 MILES

Buried under rubble for centuries and only recently excavated, this house was destroyed in 70 CE when the Romans put the city to the torch. The…

8. The Three Markets

0.14 MILES

A trio of narrow markets near the Mauristan still inhabits the narrow alleys established here during Crusader times. The boundaries between the three…