IN-PERSON: Prague – Section A

Abstract

Synagogues are sites of heritage engagement as well as places of worship. This is true of both contemporary and historic synagogues. Congregations utilise their synagogues to access their Jewish heritage, even if the synagogue they are in does not have a long history associated with Jewish occupation. Synagogues are not inherently sacred buildings. As such there are no specific religious regulations that have to be followed. However, different building practices, reflecting the vast diversity within global Jewry, have arisen. How a congregation chooses to build and lay out its synagogue reflects not just its beliefs but also its cultures, tradition and heritage. In England, planning law, which covers built heritage management, emphasises the historic or architectural merit of buildings when considering the significance of the built historic environment. This does not always reflect the lived experience of the communities worshipping in synagogues which lack these prescriptive attributes. It also means that the cultural heritage significance for congregations in historic synagogues are not always fully understood by heritage professionals who have to approach conservation from a purely ‘buildings’ perspective. Researching how synagogues with no ‘historic value’ are adapted and converted removes the ‘heritage professional’ from the equation as historic planning consent is not needed. Congregations can instead focus on their own priorities and the cultural heritage needs can be more easily identified and understood. These lessons could then be more widely applied when considering heritage management plans across the Jewish built historic environment.