Photograph of: Extentions of the Great Synagogue in Slonim - photos 2003

In the nineteenth and early twentieth century additional attachments were added to the western and eastern façades. The existence of the attachment on the eastern side, where the Torah ark was situated, is quite unusual in synagogue architecture of Eastern Europe. Unfortunately, the Jewish community is unable to take care of the magnificent synagogue. The only "progress" in the 1990s and 2000s was partial demolition of the side attachments, which constituted an original and inseparable feature of the synagogue. The main prayer hall still stands, but the murals are fading out in a process of quick destruction. The documentation of the building by the Center for Jewish Art in 2003 now allows a virtual reconstruction and preservation of this magnificent synagogue, and eventually, also its physical restoration.