Historic synagogues

The Santa María la Blanca synagogue was built in Toledo, Spain in 1190.

Fourteenth century Córdoba Synagogue

The designation oldest synagogue in the world requires careful definition. Many very old synagogues have been discovered in archaeological digs. Some synagogues have been destroyed and rebuilt several times on the same site, so, while the site or congregation may be ancient, the building may be modern. Still other very old synagogue buildings exist, but have been used for many centuries as churches, mosques, or for other purposes. And some very old synagogues have been in continuous use as synagogues for many centuries.

Oldest synagogues

Interior of the 13th-century Old New Synagogue of Prague

• The oldest synagogue fragments are stone synagogue dedication inscriptions stones found in middle and lower Egypt and dating from the third century BCE.
• The oldest synagogue building yet uncovered by archaeologists is the Delos Synagogue, a Samaritan synagogue that dates from at 150 to 128 BCE, or earlier, and is located on the island of Delos.
• The Jericho Synagogue, the oldest, securely dated, mainstream Jewish synagogue in the world was built between 70 and 50 BCE at a royal winter palace near Jericho.

Africa

Tunisia

• El Ghriba synagogue

South Africa

• The Gardens Shul, established 1841, is the oldest congregation in South Africa. Its 1863 building, which is still standing, may be the oldest synagogue building in the country.

Asia

• The 2nd and 3rd century CE Dura-Europos synagogue (in today's Syria) is better preserved than other, older synagogues that have emerged from archaeological digs. It is often called the world's oldest preserved Jewish synagogue.
• In Kochi, the South Indian State of Kerala, Paradesi Synagogue is believed to be built in 1568. It is the oldest Jewish synagogue in India.
• In Jerash, Jordan the remnants of a synagogue dating from Late Antiquity are found.

Israel/Palestine

Main article: Oldest synagogues in Israel

Runis of the ancient synagogue of Kfar Bar'am in the Galilee

• In Israel, archaeologists have uncovered many ruins of synagogues from two thousand years ago, including several that were in use before the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. The ruins of the small synagogue at the top of Masada is one of the most well-documented; it dates from the time of the Second Temple.
• One of the oldest synagogues currently in use is the Ari Ashkenazi Synagogue in Safed, which dates from the 16th century CE.
• The Shalom Al Israel synagogue in Jericho dates to the Byzantine period, and is frequented on the beginning of every Hebrew calendar month for prayers and services.
• There are synagogues in Jerusalem located on the sites of far older synagogue buildings but, because the older buildings were destroyed by non-Jewish rulers of the city, the present buildings are reconstructions. The Karaite Synagogue in Jerusalem is the oldest of Jerusalem's active synagogues, having been built in the 8th century. It was destroyed by the Crusaders in 1099 and Jews were not allowed to live in the city for 50 years. In 1187 Saladin restored the site to the Karaite Jews who promptly rebuilt the synagogue. It has been active continuously since its foundation, except during the Crusades and Jordanian occupation of the city from 1948. In 1967, the Israeli government returned the synagogue to the Karaite community, who finished renovating it in 1982.

Australia

• The Hobart Synagogue (1845) is the oldest surviving synagogue building in Australia.
• The Great Synagogue (Sydney) is the oldest congregation.

Europe

Built around 1270, the Old New Synagogue in Prague (Czech Republic) is the world's oldest active synagogue.

• The oldest synagogue in Europe uncovered in an archaeological dig to date is the Ostia Synagogue in the ancient Roman port of Ostia. The present building, of which partial walls and pillars set upright by archaeologists remain, dates from the fourth century CE. However, excavation revealed that it is on the site of an earlier synagogue dating from the middle of the first century CE, that is, from before the destruction of the Temple.
• The Main Synagogue of Barcelona, built in the third or fourth century, has been described as the oldest synagogue in Europe. It was used as a synagogue until the massacre of the Jews in Barcelona in 1391, then used for other purposes until it was rediscovered and restored in the 1990s.
• The Köln Synagogue in Cologne, Germany has been excavated 2007/2009 and dates clearly pre Carolingian (bef. 780/90). There is at the moment some strong evidence that it dates back to the early 4th century when emperor Constantine in 321 issued a privilege for the Cologne Jews.
• The Erfurt Synagogue in Erfurt, Germany, which was built c. 1100 and is currently undergoing renovation is thought by some experts to be the oldest synagogue building still standing in Europe.
• Santa María la Blanca, built in Toledo, Spain in 1190, has long been regarded as the oldest synagogue building in Europe still standing. It was consecrated as a church upon the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in the 15th century, but no major renovations were done. While still a consecrated church, it is no longer used for worship and is open as a museum.
• The oldest active synagogue building in Europe is the Alteneu Shul (Old-New Synagogue) in Prague, Czech Republic, which dates from the 13th century (probably 1270). The Altneu Shul was the pulpit of the great Rabbi Yehuda Loew, (the Maharal), and his creation, the golem of Prague, is rumored to be hidden within the synagogue.
• The Plymouth Synagogue, England, is the oldest synagogue built by Ashkenazi Jews in the English speaking world.

Greece

• The Kahal Shalom Synagogue on Rhodes (1577) is the oldest surviving synagogue building.

Poland

Inside of the Old Synagogue (Krakow)

• The fifteenth-century Old Synagogue (Kraków) is the oldest surviving synagogue building in Poland.

Romania

The 1671 Iaşi Synagogue is the oldest surviving synagogue in Romania.

Ukraine

• Golden Rose Synagogue (Lviv), 1582, a standing ruin as of 2009

United Kingdom

Main article: Oldest synagogues in the United Kingdom

• Bevis Marks Synagogue in London, built in 1701 is the oldest synagogue building in the United Kingdom still in use.

North America

Main article: Oldest synagogues in the United States

• The Touro Synagogue in Newport, Rhode Island, is the oldest Jewish house of worship in North America that is still standing. It was built in 1759 for the Jeshuat Israel congregation, which was established in 1658.

Canada

Main article: Oldest synagogues in Canada

• The Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue of Montreal is the oldest congregation in Canada.
• The 1863 building of Congregation Emanu-El (Victoria, British Columbia) may be the oldest synagogue building.

United States

Main article: Oldest synagogues in the United States

• Congregation Shearith Israel, 1654, is the oldest congregation in the United States, its present building dates from 1897.
• Touro Synagogue in Newport, Rhode Island is America's oldest synagogue which began services in the current building in the year 1763; the congregation was founded in 1658. President Kennedy called Touro Synagogue "one of the oldest symbols of liberty".

South America and Caribbean

The Kahal Zur Israel Synagogue, located in Recife stands on the site of the earliest synagogue in the Americas.

• The Kahal Zur Israel Synagogue in Recife, Brazil, erected in 1636, was the first synagogue erected in the Americas. Its foundations have been recently discovered, and the twentieth century buildings on the site have been altered to resemble a 17th century Portuguese synagogue.

• The Curaçao synagogue, Congregation Mikvé Israel-Emanuel, built in 1732 is the oldest synagogue building that is still standing in South America.

• Neveh Shalom Synagogue is the oldest and only synagogue in Surinam.