This Ukrainian synagogue is the only one in the world that does not have an entrance. It opens and closes like a book, as needed.
On June 29 and 30, 1941, in the Babi Yar ravine, in Kiev (Ukraine), there was one of the most terrifying massacres in history.
On just two days the Nazis murdered 35,000 Jews in Kiev. In the next two years, the number increased to more than 100,000 victims, including Soviet prisoners, Gypsies, and Ukrainian nationalists. They chose the ravine of Babi Yar because they could dispose of the dead without having to dig graves.
80 years later, there it stands the Babi Yar Synagogue, unique in the world: it is the only collapsible synagogue.
After war, the Soviet authorities tried to forget the massacre in Ukraine, preparing the Babi Yar ravine.
The Babi Yar Holocaust Memorial Foundation He did not want to forget what had happened, so he commissioned the Swiss architectural firm Manuel Herz Architects building a synagogue.
Built with 100-year-old native wood from the area, connect with the locals, a few years before they were killed.
The interior design is a tribute to the Ukrainian synagogues that were destroyed in the 16th and 17th centuries, and the ceiling shows the constellation of stars in the sky on September 29, 1941, the day of the first massacre.
The most amazing thing about this building is that it is foldable like a book, without using any type of motor.
The parishioners themselves turn a kind of wheel so that some gears move the sides of the synagogue, folding it completely.
The atrium and the prayer seats, as well as the ceiling, are also hidden inside the wall. A kind of book pop-up 15 meter tall giant.
When the synagogue is closed, the space it occupied turns into a square where you can enjoy the landscape, and meditate on what happened 80 years ago.
Children prefer to play, carefree, running around the square while chasing birds that perch in the heat of the sun.
Your innocence is our hope for a better future.