Grand Spanish Temple

The Grand Spanish Temple (Romanian: Templul Mare Spaniol), also known as the Cahal Grande (Romanian: Marele templu sefard Cahal Grande), was a former Orthodox Jewish congregation and synagogue, located at 12 Negru Vodă Street, in the Văcărești district of Bucharest, Romania. The synagogue was completed in 1818 and demolished in 1985.

Grand Spanish Temple
Romanian: Templul Mare Spaniol
The former synagogue façade, in 1940
Religion
Affiliation	Orthodox Judaism (former)
Rite	Nusach Sefard
Ecclesiastical or organisational status	Synagogue (1818–1985)
Status	Demolished
Location
Location	12 Negru Vodă Street, Văcărești, Bucharest
Country	Romania
Location of the former synagogue in Bucharest
Geographic coordinates	44°25′41.0″N 26°6′29.7″E
Architecture
Type	Synagogue architecture
Completed	1818
Demolished	1985
Materials	Brick

The building is believed to have been "one of the most beautiful Jewish buildings in Bucharest".^[1]

History

The synagogue was built in 1818.^[2] The building was devastated by the far-right Legionaries in 1941.^[3] The synagogue was rebuilt after the war. However, in 1985 the building, along with the Malbim Synagogue and the Spanish Small Temple, was demolished to make room for the Union Boulevard in Bucharest.^[1]

Gallery

• 
  The synagogue exterior, 1900
• 
  The synagogue interior, 1900
• 
  The synagogue interior, 1900
• 
  Ruins of the Sephardic Cahal Grande synagogue, burned by the Iron Guards during the coup, 1941

See also

• Judaism portal
• Romania portal

• History of the Jews in Bucharest
• History of the Jews in Romania
• List of synagogues in Bucharest
• List of synagogues in Romania
• Legionnaires' rebellion and Bucharest pogrom

References

1. Ciuciu, Anca (2010). Wiesel, Elie (ed.). "Revista Institutului Naţional pentru Studierea Holocaustului in România" [Images of Bucharest Pogrom (21st - 23rd January 1941), in Holocaust]. Studii şi cercetări (in Romanian). II (1 (3)). Bucharest: Institutul European: 37–57.
2. Sfetcu, Nicolae (2015). "Sinagogi în București". Ghid turistic București [Bucharest Tourist Guide: Pocket Edition] (in Romanian). p. 118 – via Google Books.
3. "The Lost Synagogues of Bucharest". Radio Romania International.

External links

• Garrett, Patrick (4 August 2016). "Inside Romania's 1941 failed coup, with the world's first female war correspondent". QZ.com.
• "Jews in Romania". Bucharestian. 24 January 2010.
• "Bucharest's lost Sephardic world: A letter and photos (1904): Excerpts from a Letter to Senator Ángel Pulido, Madrid". Between Wanderings: Jewish Life and Culture, 1850s-1920s. Bucharest. 16 February 1904. ([Translation from Spanish).