Kulashi Synagogue

About Kulashi Synagogue

As described in historical sources, seven Jewish families settled in the village at the end of the 17th century. Later, their population increased so much that by the 1990s, the majority of the population of Kulashi in Samtredia was Jewish. 

There were several synagogues in the village, although the oldest surviving one dates back to the 18th century. There is another large wooden synagogue near it, built at the beginning of the 20th century, and a building with a Jewish religious school on the second floor.

Among the many copies of the Torah in the prayer room, are other sacred books that were published in 1879 in Warsaw and 1886 in Constantinople.

The Jewish cemetery is on the opposite side of the Jewish shrines.

In the 1970s, the repatriation of Soviet Jews to Israel had started, so Kulashi became almost empty. Now there is no Jewish family in the village. However, the Kulashi Jews and their descendants often visit their old homes and support the synagogue.