The Jewish Cultural Centre in Podgorica is the first building in Montenegro dedicated to the Jewish people and to their multi-generational presence in this region.
Located below Ljubović Hill in the Zabjelo district, the building is designed as a new place of gathering, culture, worship and institutional identity for the Jewish Community of Montenegro. With a synagogue placed on the ground floor, the project brings together spiritual, cultural and civic functions within a single architectural composition.
Location:
Podgorica, Montenegro
Design:
2023
Status:
Under construction
The Menorah as the Starting Point
From the beginning, the architectural concept was connected to one essential form: the Menorah, the seven-branched candelabrum and one of the most significant symbols of Jewish identity.
Rather than applying symbolism as decoration, the project translates it into spatial structure. The geometry of the Menorah is expressed through the layering of walls on both the street-facing and rear façades. These walls are not treated only as structural or visual elements. They become carriers of meaning, shaping the identity of the building and communicating its purpose through architecture.
The Menorah introduces ideas of light, faith, wisdom and divine presence. In this project, those meanings are transformed into an architectural language that is both clear and dignified.
Twelve Walls, Twelve Tribes
Beyond the Menorah, the building contains another symbolic layer.
The Jewish Cultural Centre is composed of twelve external walls, referencing the twelve tribes of Israel. In this sense, the walls symbolically support and sustain the building, just as the memory of the tribes supports the continuity of Jewish identity.
This idea is reinforced through twelve circular openings in the façade, decorated with stained-glass panels depicting the emblems of the respective tribes. Through these openings, the façade becomes more than an exterior surface. It becomes a narrative element, connecting history, identity and light.
The Star of David and the Ground
The building is positioned on a plinth whose geometry is defined by the Star of David. This embeds one of the fundamental symbols of Jewish identity into the very topography of the project.
The orientation of the synagogue follows religious principles, with the Aron Kodesh directed toward Jerusalem. In this specific location, that orientation corresponds to the southeast, connecting the building simultaneously to Podgorica and to the spiritual axis of Jerusalem.
This relationship between place and direction is central to the project. The building belongs to its immediate urban and natural context, while also maintaining a symbolic and spiritual connection with a much broader geography of memory.
Montenegro, Jerusalem and the Materiality of Belonging
A particularly important aspect of the project is its relationship with the ground.
The building rests upon the Montenegrin karst landscape, establishing a subtle connection between Jewish identity and the territory of Montenegro. This contact with local stone is not only a construction or landscape gesture. It expresses coexistence, belonging and Montenegrin-Jewish friendship.
The façade develops this idea further. Its final layer is conceived as a specially developed render incorporating desert sand from the surroundings of Jerusalem. Through this material gesture, the façade becomes tactile as well as visual.
By touching the façade, visitors establish direct contact with a material connected to the geographical and spiritual origins of the Jewish people. Architecture therefore becomes an experience of touch, presence and remembrance.
A Place for Culture, Faith and Memory
The Jewish Cultural Centre in Podgorica is not defined only by its physical form. Its significance comes from the way it translates spiritual, historical and cultural references into architecture.
The project brings together the Menorah, the twelve tribes of Israel, the Star of David, the direction of Jerusalem, Montenegrin karst and Jerusalem desert sand into one coherent architectural statement.
It is a building rooted in symbols, but not limited by them. It creates a place where culture, faith and memory converge, while also establishing a new public and institutional presence for the Jewish Community of Montenegro.
