Paramaribo, herenstraat 20, the portuguese-israelitic synagogue
"sedek ve salom" (1736). view of main elevation.
Photographer: KDV architects, 1988
The synagogue "sedek ve salom" was constructed after a split-up of the joint Sephardic-Askhenasic Jewish congregation. Until then, the congregation had been dominated by the Sephardim, but in 1735 the Ashkenazim no longer accepted that situation. They founded their own congregation. The 1719 Keizerstraat synagogue was given to the new community, and the Sephardim started to build a new facility at the Heerenstraat. In the beginning it was considered only a "casa d'oracao", for the congregation's real synagogue was situated at Jodensavanna. Only after the deterioration of Jodensavanna the Heerenstraat building became the main Sephardic synagogue. Since 1735, the building has been enlarged several times, in the years 1754, 1774-77, 1788-91, 1813 (women's galleries added by master-carpenter Johan van Zijl) and 1854 (exterior remodelling by the architect Johan August Voigt).The layout of the building is modelled after the Amsterdam synagogue, though the Heerenstraat synagogue is much smaller, and originally had no women's galleries. But the Amsterdam layout with the Hechal on the eastern side, and the Teba on the opposite side, was excactly copied.
Sources:
De architectuur van Suriname 1667-1930, C. A. Temminck-Groll, 1973
