Synagogue Architecture Studies

Dear Colleagues,

Synagogue architecture comprises a distinct chapter in architectural history. Historically, a synagogue was a supplement to the Jewish Temple and, after its destruction, the main religious facility of Judaism. It serves the Jewish communities as a place of collective prayer, study, celebrating holidays, and communal events. In the believers’ mind, the synagogue inherits many aspects of the Temple’s holiness and is conceived as a “little sanctuary.”

The present issue of Arts dwells on the synagogue architecture in its broadest chronological and geographical framework. Such a frame embraces branches of the Jewish Diaspora and their ingathering in Israel, which boast a variety of cultures. This variety originates from the dual nature of the synagogue architecture as a minority’s contribution to the mainstream architectural history, a never-ceasing separation from and integration into local political, economic, and cultural life.

The study of synagogue architecture embraces the synagogue’s role in the cityscape, its place in the historical Jewish quarter and compound of Jewish ritual buildings, the synagogue’s exterior massing, liturgy and organization of its interior space, women’s and men’s place therein, exterior and interior styles, architectural iconography as referring to the Jewish Temple and historical synagogues, painted and relief decoration, and more. All these are products of architects and artists, whose identity is formative to the built work.

The researchers are invited to interpret the meanings of the synagogue revealed through the visual expression, negotiation of the synagogue’s design within the community and vis à vis the host society, reflected in personal and collective memories of the synagogue, whether shared by the Jews and their neighbors or split.

As synagogues are physical structures subjected to aging, weathering, fires, and, at times, deliberate damage, the authors are welcome to discuss the synagogues’ construction and decorative media, problems of their protection, conservation, and restoration. These subjects go beyond technical problems to ensure the synagogue’s sanctity, its urban visibility and accessibility, and its use by the Jewish community, visitors, and general society.

You may choose our Joint Special Issue in Architecture.

Dr. Sergey R. Kravtsov
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Arts is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• architectural history
• synagogue architecture
• Jewish art
• Jewish cultures
• Jewish history