Location: Jewish Synagogue Street, KolkataBuilt by: Elias Joseph Ezra
Kolkata is a wonderful city, especially in terms of religious amalgamation. People of different religions co-exist here with immense harmony and peace. There are several religious places in the city, meant for people of different religions and faiths. It houses numerous temples, mosques, churches as well as rarely-found worship places in India, like a synagogue. There are five synagogues in the city. The oldest of them is Magen David Synagogue, located on Jewish Synagogue Street, Calcutta. It is the most visited synagogues in the city, by the handful of Jews which have been left here.
The Magen David Synagogue of Kolkata was built by Elias Joseph Ezra, a renowned real estate agent of the city. The Ezra family was perhaps the most influential Jewish family in Kolkata at that time. Joseph got this synagogue built in the memory of his loving father David Joseph Ezra. Said to be one of the oldest and finest synagogue of India, it was opened for public viewing in September 1884. Even today, Magen David Synagogue, lighted by gas, provides an excellent view of this city.
Magen David Synagogue is thought to be the one of biggest synagogues in the Asia Pacific. The building is about 140 ft in length and 82 ft in width. The tower of the synagogue has a clock fitted to it, in the typical post-Renaissance period pattern. There is a separate place in the synagogue for women to sit and worship peacefully. The synagogue can be visited any day in the week, between 9:00 am and 8:00 pm, though people prefer to visit it between either 9:00 am and 11:00 am or 4:00 pm and 7:00 pm.
