In December 1934, Rijeka's Orthodox synagogue was embellished with a Baroque marble Aron Hakodesh from Trieste. It came from the Scola Grande of German rite on the first floor of Palazzo Balzano in Trieste and formed part of the rich decorations that distinguished this synagogue from the more austere Scola Piccola of Sephardic rite on the ground floor of the same building. In this same period, the Scola Piccola's Torah ark was transferred to Opatija. Both synagogues had been closed after the inauguration of the main Temple in 1912. Palazzo Balzano was demolished in 1935 and the Baroque Torah ark, as well as the ark of the other synagogue, were removed and temporarily stored at the Trieste Jewish cemetery, together with other disassembled materials in November 1934.
 |  | |
Aron Hakodesh in the Scola Grande of Trieste, before 1934
| The Bimah in the Scola Grande of Trieste, before 1934
|
On 10 December 1934, the Aron Hakodesh of the old Scola Grande was transferred to the Rijeka Jewish Orthodox synagogue and reassembled there by Mario Hirsch, the owner of a workshop specialised in working marble and stone. Ernesto Berger (1878-1938), president of the Orthodox congregation and owner of furniture shops in Rijeka and Opatija, thanked the Jewish community of Trieste. The Torah ark still stands in the Orthodox synagogue.
 | |
Aron Hakodesh in the Orthodox synagogue of Rijeka, 1951
|