Žasliai is one of the oldest Jewish towns in Lithuania. After three wooden synagogues burned down in a fire in 1905, a fire station and two brick Orthodox and Hasidic synagogues were built at the expense of American Jews. The Orthodox synagogue was converted into a cultural centre. Wooden synagogues are very rare in Europe, and in Lithuania, most of them have been lost. The wooden synagogue in Žiežmariai was built in the 18th or mid-19th century. After the war, the synagogue was used as a warehouse and would have been completely abandoned had it not been for the locals who saved it. Žiežmariai was famous for its sewing factory, run by Dora Piliansky. When the war broke out, Dora escaped, then returned and settled in Kaunas. Dora Piliansky made her last dress at the age of 90. After she stopped sewing, she started to paint her memories of her youth in Žiežmariai. Cecilija Kurliandchik, Dora Piliansky’s niece, visits the synagogue.
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Elektrėnai - Žiežmariai
Elektrėnai-Žasliai-Kaišiadorys-Žiežmariai-Synagogues in Žasliai and Žiežmariai
Synagogues in Žasliai and Žiežmariai
What people say
from the eye and from the heart
Cecilija Kurliandchik,
relative of Dora Piliansky
There were ten children, seven boys and three girls. Everyone knew how to sew, but they all had an additional profession.
Aivaras Jonyka,
employee of Žiežmariai Culture Centre
There were three synagogues in Žiežmariai, all of which were often on fire, which is why the Jews were the first to set up a fire brigade here during the interwar period.
Dr Olijardas Lukoševičius,
director of Kaišiadorys Museum
Born in Žasliai, pianist Leopold Godowsky was called by his contemporaries the apostle of the left hand or the buddha of the piano. Old photographs show Godowsky with Albert Einstein and Charlie Chaplin. They were friends and kept in touch.