The Jewish Community of Stockholm / The Great Synagogue of Stockholm

The Great Synagogue of Stockholm is one of three synagogues in Stockholm that form the Jewish Community of Stockholm, the others being the Reform and Orthodox communities. Our synagogue is part of the Masorti (Conservative) movement which means that men and women are counted in a minyan and may receive an Aliya amongst other things.

The Great Synagogue of Stockholm is the largest synagogue in Sweden, it was built in 1870 in the ‘oriental’ style and is a national historical building. With high visibility in Swedish society, it is the ‘flagship synagogue’ of Stockholm and of Sweden. Our synagogue seats 980 people and is home to the community mikveh that is used by all three of Stockholm’s synagogues.

Services in our community are held primarily in Hebrew with some sections read in Swedish (prayer for the country and the royal family, Dvar Torah, e.g.). We use a Swedish siddur but for Friday night and Thursday mornings we use a Sim Shalom and Lev Shalem. We have a weekday minyan every Thursday. Most shabbatot we have one or several bnei mitzvot. For weekdays and some Kabbalot Shabbat we use a smaller chapel on the ground floor.

Rabbi Ute Steyer was ordained by the Jewish Theological Seminary in 2009 and has served the Jewish community of Stockholm since 2015.

Cantor Yuval Hed was installed in 2020 and has been the cantor of the Jewish Community since November 2020.

We offer bi-weekly children's tefillot on Shabbat.

Our NOAM chapter is in its very beginning but we have an active and engaged group of young adults who form the backbone of our MAROM group.

Kabbalat Shabbat: 5:30 pm (winter), 6:30 pm (summer)

Shacharit shel Shabbat and Yom Tov: 9:15 am. Kiddush afterwards in the social hall.

Thursdays: 8am (9am if on a bank holiday)

The Great Synagogue serves all members of the community and welcomes people of all backgrounds and levels of observance. When you are visiting our synagogue during services - please, introduce yourself to our gabbaim who will be more than happy to help you.

The History of Jews in Sweden

The first Jew permitted to take up permanent residence in Sweden was Aaron Isaac, a merchant from Germany. He came to Stockholm with his family in 1774, accompanied by a minyan of people, who also brought their families. As the Jews of Sweden were emancipated in 1870 their number had increased to 3,000 through natural increase and new immigration. Communities were founded in Gothenburg, Malmö and in several other towns around the country. While immigration at the beginning of the 20th century consisted mainly of individuals or single families, persecution in Russia forced large numbers of Jews into exile. Several thousand came to Sweden.  

During the thirties, numerous Jews fled from Nazi Germany. The largest immigration occurred immediately after the Holocaust, when thousands of survivors were brought over from the death camps. About 5,000 of them remained in Sweden, although the majority left for Israel and the USA. This influx doubled the population. The political events in Hungary in 1956, Czechoslovakia in 1967, and Poland in 1968 led to additional Jewish immigration to Sweden. The most recent group of immigrants came from the former Soviet Union.  

Jews of Stockholm today 

As of May 2021 there are around 4,300 members of the Jewish Community in Stockholm. The Jewish Community of Stockholm is a unified community, meaning that all synagogues, masorti/conservative as well as orthodox, belong to the same organization. There is a Jewish elementary school, junior high school and a variety of communal organizations. There are Jewish Communities in Gothenburg and Malmö as well, and we estimate that there are around 18 – 20,000 Jews living in Sweden today.  

The main building, the synagogue and the office of the Jewish Community is situated in downtown Stockholm at Wahrendorffsgatan 3 B. Office hours are 9 am to 4 pm Monday- Friday. The office closes for lunch between 12 and 1 pm. Phone 08-587 858 00 and on the web - www.jfst.se  

The Holocaust Monument in Stockholm 

A memorial to the victims of the Holocaust is engraved on the wall leading from the entrance of the Great Synagogue to the Jewish Community office building. It was inaugurated in 1998 by Carl XVI Gustav, King of Sweden, and records 8,500 victims who are relatives of Jews residing in Sweden. The 42-meter monument serves as a link between a monstrous past and a future in which there should be no room for such atrocities to be repeated.