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JWR VerifiedFounding RecordJWR-2026-000170

Oldest Wooden Synagogue in Europe

Record holder

Old Wooden SynagoguePlace

Record value

Built in 1766

Country: RomaniaAchievement location: Piatra Neamț, RomaniaAchievement date: 1766Current record

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Verified by Jewish World RecordsHow we verify records

Exterior of the Old Wooden Synagogue in Piatra Neamț, Romania.

The Old Wooden Synagogue in Piatra Neamț, Romania, dating from 1766.Țetcu Mircea Rareș / Wikimedia CommonsSourceCC BY-SA 4.0

Official record definition

The earliest-built surviving wooden building in Europe that was purpose-designed and constructed as a synagogue. The metric is the construction year of the surviving wooden synagogue building; later restorations do not reset the building date unless the original structure was replaced.

Measurement methodology

Documented construction chronology of surviving wooden synagogue buildings in Europe, with counter-candidate review.

Measurement point: Original surviving wooden synagogue building

Record story

The Old Wooden Synagogue in Piatra Neamț, Romania, holds the record for the Oldest Wooden Synagogue in Europe. The building, which is also known as the Besht Synagogue, was "Built in 1766". This record is defined by the construction year of a surviving wooden building in Europe that was purpose-designed and built as a synagogue. The 1766 date is documented by the Center for Jewish Art at the Hebrew University and is independently listed in Romania's national religious-building database.

The original wooden prayer hall survives, despite undergoing a series of documented restorations in 1826, 1854, 1870, 1928 and 2010. A review of counter-candidates across the continent confirmed the building's standing, finding no earlier surviving purpose-built wooden synagogue. Other notable surviving examples were found to be later, including the synagogues in Ludza, Latvia (1783) and Pakruojis, Lithuania (1801).

Media

How JWR verified this record

Verification date
26 September 2026
Verification standard
JWR Verification Standard 1.0

Achievement evidence

The Center for Jewish Art at the Hebrew University documents the Old Wooden (Besht) Synagogue in Piatra Neamț as dating from 1766, identifies it as extant, and records later restorations in 1826, 1854, 1870, 1928 and 2010. Romania's national religious-building database independently lists the wooden synagogue as a 1766 monument.

Superiority evidence

A Europe-wide counter-candidate review found no earlier surviving purpose-built wooden synagogue building. Major surviving candidates include Ludza, Latvia (1783) and Pakruojis, Lithuania (1801), both later. Romanian cultural and scholarly sources describe Piatra Neamț as the oldest surviving wooden synagogue in Europe or in Central and Eastern Europe.

Jewish Eligibility — Verified by JWR

Jewish eligibility verification

Evidence establishing that the holder qualifies as Jewish for JWR purposes.

  • Old Wooden Synagogue (Besht Synagogue) in Piatra Neamț — Center for Jewish Art, Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Achievement / record verification

Evidence establishing that the holder achieved the result and holds the record as defined.

  • Old Wooden Synagogue (Besht Synagogue) in Piatra Neamț — Center for Jewish Art, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
  • Sinagogă de lemn, Piatra Neamț — CIMEC — Institutul Național al Patrimoniului

Superiority / counter-candidate verification

Evidence comparing the result with other candidates relevant to the record claim.

  • Pagini de istorie — comunitatea evreilor din Piatra Neamț — Romanian Cultural Institute

Jewish eligibility, achievement and superiority evidence retain their separate classifications and are never merged. Context and provenance are not presented as proof of the achievement. Restricted evidence and internal research notes are never published. Learn more about the seven-stage process on the verification page.

Sources & Verification

History

  1. Verified

    Verified according to JWR Verification Standard 1.0.

  2. Publishedv1

    Published to the official JWR registry.

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