The most emblematic feature of the Jewish communities in the cities, towns and villages of Europe has been the synagogues they built, many of them displaying real artistic and architectural accomplishment. These buildings are portals into the Jewish life that they nurtured and sustained, and it is to these sites - and their communities.
The Foundation for Jewish Heritage has as its mission the preservation of Jewish Heritage and its approach has been to consider the issue from a comprehensive and strategic perspective. Hence one of its first acts was to commission the Center for Jewish Art at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem to use its extensive knowledge and expertise to provide an inventory of all the historic synagogues of Europe. Never before has such a listing been brought together in one location and made publicly available.
