The city council and mayor of Kaišiadorys, Vytenis Tomkus, are scheduled to meet with Lithuanian Jewish Community chairperson Faina Kukliansky and the community’s heritage protection specialist Martynas Užpelkis July 30 to discuss the conservation and exploitation of the Žiežmariai (Zhezhmer or Zezmer in Yiddish) Synagogue.
The Lithuanian Jewish Community in cooperation with the Cultural Protection Department has been working on how to preserve the town’s only surviving synagogue, one of the few surviving wooden synagogues in Europe, for several years now. A series of tests, studies and research including engineering and geological, archaeological, historical, building construction, timber, chemical and painting/decoration investigations, and the drafting of a detailed plan for renovation work are planned for completion this year. Restoration work beyond that, and most importantly the positive social and economic effect accruing from that, will be part of the town’s general plan for the conservation and use of heritage sites.