The Kenesa Temple, Vilnius

The Kenesa temple was built in 1922–1923 for the Karaims. The Karaims are a religious nation, which was invited to Lithuania from Crimea by Vytautas, Grand Duke of Lithuania. ‘Karaim’ means ‘I am reading (the bible)’. The enigmatic Lithuanian Karaite, who number about 500 nationwide, are on the edge of extinction. During the Soviet occupation, their kenesa was closed. Like the country’s other remaining kenesa in Trakai, the building is almost always locked.

Image Courtesy of Wikimedia and Juliux.

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Sight Name: The Kenesa Temple
Sight Location: Vilnius, Lithuania (See walking tours in Vilnius)
Sight Type: Religious

Walking Tours in Vilnius, Lithuania

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