Editing Synagogue architecture (section)

{{Short description|Style of architecture}}
[[File:Princes_Road_Synagogue_Nave.jpg|thumb|The late 19th century [[Princes Road Synagogue]], Liverpool, United Kingdom]]
[[File:Scola_spagnola_(Venice).jpg|thumb|The 16th century [[Spanish Synagogue (Venice)|Spanish Synagogue]] in [[Venice]], Italy, a "hidden" synagogue not giving any external sign of its function.]]
[[File:Belz World Center Outside.jpg|thumb|Oriental style—[[Belz Great Synagogue]] (2000), Jerusalem.]]

'''Synagogue architecture''' often follows styles in vogue at the place and time of construction. There is no set blueprint for [[synagogue]]s and architectural shapes and interior designs of synagogues vary greatly. According to tradition, the [[Shekhinah]] or divine presence can be found wherever there is a ''[[minyan]]'': the quorum of ten required for [[Jewish prayer]].

Synagogues have some requirements. They always contain a [[Torah ark]] where the [[Torah scroll]]s are kept (called an ''aron qodesh'' ({{langx|he|אָרוֹן קׄדֶש}}) by [[Ashkenazi Jews]] and a ''hekhal'' ({{lang|he|[[wikt:היכל|היכל]]}}) by [[Sephardic Jews]]). Also, since synagogues are buildings for congregational worship, they require a large central space (like [[church (building)|church]]es in [[Christianity]] and [[mosque]]s in [[Islam]]). They are generally designed with the ark at one end, typically opposite the main entrance on the east side of the building, and a [[Bema#Judaism|''bema'']] either in front of that or more centrally placed. Raised galleries for female worshipers have been common in historical buildings. 
[[File:Kai_Feng_synagogue.jpg|thumb|A model of the now-destroyed [[synagogue]] of Kaifeng or ''Qīngzhēn-sì'' ({{cjkv|c=清真寺}}).]]
Beyond these requirements, there is little to dictate synagogue design. Historically, synagogues were typically according to prevailing architectural styles. For example, the synagogue of [[Kaifeng]] looked like [[Buddhist temple]]s of that region and era, with its outer wall and open garden where several buildings were arranged.