Exhibition
Belarus Shtetl
For centuries, Belarus was home to hundreds of Jewish shtetls — a Yiddish word for small towns where Jews made up the majority of the population. As vibrant centers of economic, spiritual, and communal life, shtetls were a distinctive feature of Eastern Europe before the Holocaust. Alongside their Jewish communities, they were also home to Belarusians, Poles, Lithuanians, Russians, Tatars, and Roma, creating a unique cultural landscape shaped by different languages, religions, and traditions.
Wolpa synagogue
Institute of Art, Polish Academy of Science
At the heart of every shtetl stood the synagogue — a place where the spiritual, cultural, and social life of the Jewish community intertwined. The Belarus Shtetl exhibition shines a spotlight on this remarkable legacy, offering an immersive exploration of four significant synagogues, each meticulously reconstructed in virtual reality by combining archival research, manual restoration techniques, and digital technologies. Together, they represent different architectural styles, historical periods, and regional-cultural influences, showcasing the diversity of Belarusian shtetls.
The exhibition features the Great Synagogue of Wolpa, which was destroyed during World War II, and the Great Synagogues of Bykhaw, Slonim, and Ashmyany — still standing today, though empty and abandoned.
Wolpa, 1939
Institute of Art, Polish Academy of Science
Object
THE Wolpa Great Synagogue
The Wolpa Great Synagogue is considered one of the most beautiful wooden synagogues ever built. Constructed in the first half of the 18th century, it became a model for a number of other wooden synagogues . Tragically, it was completely destroyed by the Nazis during World War II.
