synagogue in St. petersburg

[Granny B]

Has anyone on the Red October tour been to the synagogue here. How much time should we allow and are there many artifacts to see? Was your guide knowledgeable of it's history? thanks

[whenzuc]

We were there 3 weeks ago with Red October. We spent about 15 minutes there. The Cantor was there at the time and showed us around. We joined in with another group of 4 people. Not really much too see there- we didn't see any artifacts. We walked into the main Santuary, and the Red October guide- Elena- took us into the newer wedding chapel.

[Andee]

I'd say we were there for about 30 minutes. Our guide, Helen, knew a fair amount about it, as her grandfather was Jewish, and as I recall, there was some museum like documentation about the history of the Jewish community in St. Petersburg.

[Granny B]

thank you for the information. Did the Cantor speak english? Where you allowed to take pictures? Where there any old jewish areas to see and shop at.

 

brenda

[Rebs76]

We just drove by it while on the Princess tour. The tour guide just mentioned it (and I believe that she mentioned it with a negative tone).

[aztex]

We stopped on our DenRus tour in June. The Cantor spoke English and photographs were not allowed. We were there for about 15 minutes.

[Andee]

The Cantor wasn't there when we visited in 2003, and we took pictures.

[Granny B]

thanks again for the information. We are on the Star Princess out of Copenhagen 8/23. With friends, we have a 2 day private tour guide from Red October and have pre-requested a tour of the synagogue, hopefully it will be a more positive experience for us. Brenda

[LesLebo]

We asked our DenRus guide to allow us to stop at the Synagogue, and he did this without hesitation. The caretaker was there and she opened the place up for us, so we just walked around. That was about 9 a.m. in the morning. Our guide really had no information, but the caretaker said a few things in Russian, which he translated.

 

We also saw the main room and the new wedding chapel, and we took photos.

We gave the caretaker a small "thank you" tip. All in all, it took us about 20-30 minutes, but we are pleased that we did something a little different. It's more of a personal thing, but it does have different architecture from what I'm used to seeing in synagogues, and it is beautiful.

[a1dolllady]

Hi,

 

We were on tour with Red October on our Baltic cruise on the Constellation July 2 -16. We arranged to stop at the synagogue in St. Petersburg when we first planned our itinerary with Red October. It was Saturday afternoon. We went in, looked around, took pictures. We were there for about 20 minutes or so. It was worthwhile for us. Our guide told us that the synagogue was in use during the Soviet years, which surprised us! It was interesting to see the prayer books in both Hebrew and Russian!. Go if you can.

 

Helen

[CA traveler]

We requested a stop at the synagogue with Red October; we asked if someone could speak to us about the history of the Jewish community. The Cantor was there when we arrived and spoke to our group of 12 and some other tourist who were there. We sat in the sanctuary and then saw the wedding room. The Cantor spoke excellent English and answered our questions.

[mike35]

We visited the Synagogue on August 7 with our private guide. The cantor is a native of St. Petersburg, but he was in Florida for several years as a cantor. He speaks perfect English and was delighted to show us around and answer any questions. We had no problem taking as many photos as we wanted. There's a Judaica shop adjacent - some nice items and foodstuffs.

 

Mike

[Mapu]

Thanks for the update on the Synagogue. We were there 12 years ago; at that time a woman (who spoke English well) showed us around. I remeber purchasing some gifts in their shop as well. I think the "food" is a new addition. Could you elaborate on that . Is there food for purchase that could serve as "lunch"?

[Granny B]

the information you are giving is very much appreciated. Since I live in florida I hope the cantor will be the so we can take home some good memories.

[Granny B]

the information you are giving is very much appreciated. Since I live in florida I hope the cantor will be the so we can take home some good memories.

[Granny B]

the information you are giving is very much appreciated. Since I live in florida I hope the cantor will be there so we can take home some good memories.

[mike35]

There is food for purchase in the Judaica shop that could serve as lunch, and there are some chairs just outside the shop where one could eat. We also found some other good "Russian fast food" places to eat. One in particular, called "Teaspoon" features blinis filled with a variety of fillings, plus some rather delicious salads.

 

Mike