In Uzhgorod, a step was taken that recently seemed almost impossible: the foundation was laid for the restoration of the wooden synagogue from the village of Velyki Komyaty in Transcarpathia at the Transcarpathian Museum of Folk Architecture and Life. This is a rare monument of Jewish heritage that was dismantled, transported to the regional center, and is now planned to be recreated in the open-air museum. According to Ukrainian and specialized Jewish sources, this object is indeed one of the very few surviving wooden synagogues in Eastern Europe, and after restoration, it should become part of the museum’s exhibition and simultaneously a space for cultural and religious life.
This was reported by the Transcarpathian Regional Council.
For the Israeli audience, this news is important not only as a local history plot from Transcarpathia.
It directly concerns the theme of preserving Jewish memory in Eastern Europe — the very memory that has been disappearing for decades along with communities, buildings, cemeteries, and local stories. Against the backdrop of war, destruction, and general instability, the very idea of not just preserving the remnants of a building but transporting it, saving it, and returning it to public space looks like a rare example of Jewish heritage in Ukraine not only surviving but literally getting a second life.
Why the history of this synagogue goes far beyond Transcarpathia
The ceremony itself took place on April 15, 2026, on the territory of the Uzhgorod open-air museum. According to Suspilne, a stone and a commemorative certificate were laid in the foundation at that time, and the museum director Vasyl Kotsan clarified that the building had already been dismantled and transported to Uzhgorod. The restoration was divided into three stages: first dismantling and transportation, then the foundation and construction, and after that — the arrangement of the building itself and the space around it. The work is planned to be completed in September–October 2026.
The project was initially not a local initiative of one museum. It is based on the cooperation of the museum, local authorities, Jewish structures, and the Hungarian side.
Jewish Heritage Europe wrote back in the fall of 2025 that the relocation of the synagogue was the result of a memorandum of cooperation between several participants, including the Consulate General of Hungary in Uzhgorod, the museum, representatives of the Transcarpathian administration, and the Jewish community. Already in April 2026, Ukrainian regional sources confirmed that the project had moved from the stage of agreements to the practical phase of construction.
This is especially important because it is not about reconstruction “from scratch” based on designers’ fantasies.
Specialists previously performed architectural measurements, drawings, and descriptions of the object. The Center for Jewish Art at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem records the existence of this wooden synagogue in Velyki Komyaty, publishes its photos and drawings, and also classifies it among the wooden synagogues of Transcarpathia. Thus, the restorers have a scientific basis that allows them not just to build a stylization but to try to restore the historical appearance of the monument as accurately as possible.
What makes it truly unique
In Ukrainian publications, the object is often called the only such synagogue in Europe. Here, the accuracy of formulations is important. It is more reliable to say this: it is one of the last surviving wooden synagogues in Eastern Europe and an exceptionally rare example of Jewish wooden sacred architecture that has survived to this day. This cautious but convincing assessment is given by specialized sources studying the Jewish heritage of the region.
For the reader in Israel, this nuance is not technical but fundamental. When the media writes “the only one in Europe” without verification, it sounds impressive but may raise doubts among those familiar with the history of wooden synagogues in Poland, Lithuania, Ukraine, and Belarus. In this case, the value of the object does not need exaggeration. Even the formulations “rarest,” “one of the few surviving,” and “without analogs in its regional type” are more than sufficient to understand the scale of the event.
The complex fate of the building and the memory of Jewish life that was almost erased
According to Jewish Heritage Europe, the synagogue was first studied in the 1980s, and after the death of Hungarian researcher Aniko Gazda, architects from Lviv continued the work.
At that time, measurements and descriptions of the building were made. The size of the building is 13.83 by 7.92 meters. From the outside, it looks almost like a rural house, but the arched windows and some interior details reveal its true purpose. In recent decades, the building was either empty or used as a utility room or warehouse.
It is worth noting separately that there is a discrepancy in the sources regarding the dating. In news publications, it is sometimes attributed to the mid-19th century, but the Center for Jewish Art’s database indicates the first half of the 20th century, and Jewish Heritage Europe — the late 19th or early 20th century. For a quality text, it is more correct not to present one controversial date as final but to honestly indicate that researchers differ in more precise dating but agree on the main point: this is a historical object of exceptional rarity that has long been under threat of loss.
Suspilne also provides another important detail that returns this story to a human dimension.
According to a project participant, more than 400 Jews from the village of Velyki Komyaty were deported to Auschwitz during the Holocaust. Therefore, the restoration of the synagogue is not only about working with wood, beams, and foundation. It is an attempt to restore the visibility of the Jewish life that was once a full-fledged part of the local world and was then almost completely destroyed.
In this place, it is especially appropriate to say why such stories are important for Israel as well. Jewish statehood has long become not only a political but also a civilizational response to the disappearance of communities that lived in Europe for centuries. When a synagogue doomed to final destruction is restored in Ukraine, it works not only as a museum project. It is a return of voice to those places where Jewish presence was attempted to be erased by war, Nazism, Soviet neglect, and time. And it is precisely such stories that NAnews — Israel News | Nikk.Agency should notice and explain to the Israeli reader not as an exotic from Transcarpathia but as part of a large Jewish historical map.
Who is involved in the restoration and how much it costs
According to Suspilne, the first stage — dismantling and transportation — cost about 903 thousand hryvnias. The second stage, related to the formation of the foundation and construction, is estimated at 3.5 million hryvnias. The museum director also clarified that for full restoration, about 40% of the structure will have to be made from new material, as some of the original elements did not withstand time.
This is also an important point for understanding the scale of the project. It is not about cosmetic repairs. Specialists are essentially reassembling the monument, trying to preserve as many authentic elements as possible, but at the same time preventing the object from collapsing after the ceremonial opening. Such an approach usually causes disputes among restorers, but in cases where the monument has stood without proper care for decades, a compromise between authenticity and physical survival becomes inevitable. This project is precisely at such a point.
How the foundation was laid, who participated, and what was said
The ceremonial ceremony took place on April 15 on the territory of the Transcarpathian Museum of Folk Architecture and Life in Uzhgorod. On this day, a stone was laid in the foundation of the future restored synagogue from the village of Velyki Komyaty, along with a commemorative certificate. The event itself became not just a technical start of work but a public symbol of the beginning of the rescue of a rare monument of Jewish heritage in Transcarpathia.
The ceremony was attended by representatives of regional authorities, international partners, diplomats, Jewish organizations, and representatives of the local community.
Among the participants were the chairman of the Transcarpathian Regional Council Roman Saray, Deputy Head of the OVA Yuriy Guzynets, Consul General of Hungary in Uzhgorod József Bocskai, President of the Jewish Confederation of Ukraine Rabbi Meir Stambler, Chairman of the Presidium of the Public Foundation of Hungarian Jewish Heritage MAZSÖK György Szabó, as well as ambassadors of Transcarpathia Alex Rovt and Gennady Gutman. Representatives of the Jewish community of the region were also present at the ceremony.
A separate role in the event was played by museum workers and specialists involved in the restoration project itself.
Museum director Vasyl Kotsan explained that the building had already been dismantled and transported to Uzhgorod, and the restoration would take place in three stages. According to him, the first stage — dismantling and transportation — cost almost a million hryvnias, and at the second stage, which includes the formation of the foundation and construction, the parties were just moving to sign a new agreement. He clarified that the cost of the second stage is 3.5 million hryvnias, and among the signatories will be the Consulate General of Hungary in Uzhgorod, Jewish associations, charitable foundations, the museum itself, the Transcarpathian Regional Council, and the regional state administration.
Roman Saray in his speech emphasized not only the architectural but also the historical value of the object. He stressed that the wooden synagogue from Velyki Komyaty is not just an old building but a living witness to the centuries-old history of the region and a symbol of the multicultural Transcarpathia that the region is proud of.
According to him, not so long ago, this mid-19th-century monument was under threat of complete disappearance, but thanks to the joint efforts of regional authorities, international partners, the MAZSÖK foundation, the Consulate General of Hungary, restorers, and museum specialists, it was possible to start a large-scale project to save it.
In his words, there was also a practical emphasis on the future of the object. Saray stated that after the completion of the work, the synagogue will become not only an adornment of the museum’s exhibition but also an important point on the tourist map of the region. In addition, he separately thanked everyone who participated in the preparation of the complex project: specialists who carefully marked each detail during dismantling, scientists working on restoring lost interior fragments, as well as patrons and ambassadors of Transcarpathia, in particular Alex Rovt and Gennady Gutman.
The speech of Rabbi from Hungary Baruch Oberlander was also significant.
He emphasized that the restoration of this synagogue is important not only for the Jewish community but also for all of Transcarpathia. In his words, there was a direct connection between the fate of the building and the fate of the people: he reminded that more than 400 Jews from the village of Velyki Komyaty were sent to Auschwitz. Therefore, the current work, in his assessment, is important also because it restores the memory of the Jewish life that once flourished here. He separately noted the significance of the efforts of Uzhgorod Rabbi Menachem Mendel Wilhelm, calling this work very important.
Thus, the opening ceremony of the construction phase was structured not only as the official start of the project but also as an act of historical memory. It combined several meanings at once: the rescue of a rare monument, international cooperation, the return of Jewish history of Transcarpathia to the public space, and an attempt to show that it is not about museum formality but about restoring an important fragment of the lost world.
What Uzhgorod will get and why it can become a point of attraction for Europe and Israel
After the completion of the work, the synagogue should become not just another museum house in the open-air museum.
According to Jewish Heritage Europe and Ukrainian sources, it is planned to be used not only as an exhibit but also as a space for the cultural and spiritual life of the Jewish community. This sharply increases the value of the project: the object will not exist as a dead backdrop for excursions but will have a chance to perform at least part of its historical function again.
For tourism, this is also a strong story. Uzhgorod and Transcarpathia have long been perceived as a territory of intersection of Ukrainian, Hungarian, Jewish, Slovak, Rusyn, and Central European cultures. If the project is completed qualitatively, the restored synagogue may become one of the most notable points of Jewish heritage in the region — and not only for Ukrainian tourists but also for researchers, pilgrims, descendants of Transcarpathian Jews, as well as Israelis interested in memory routes in Eastern Europe.
Against the backdrop of constant news about the destruction of monuments, war, and loss, this story stands out precisely because it is about salvation.
Not about a declaration, not about a memorial plaque, and not about a beautiful statement for social networks, but about a real attempt to pull from oblivion one of the last material traces of Jewish Transcarpathia. And in this sense, the news from Uzhgorod is indeed more than a regional event. It is a reminder that Jewish memory in Europe can not only disappear but also return — if there are people ready to fight for it.
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