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    Congregation Mickve Israel

    4.9 (30 reviews)
    Closed 11:00 am - 2:00 pm
    Updated 2 weeks ago

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    Stained glass

    This is a great historic site. The tours are great - we enjoyed Marc and his stories about its history and the Jewish history in Savannah. The synagogue itself is really nice with incredible stained windows. The congregation has a lovely rabbi and warm and welcoming members. Cool artifacts upstairs. I highly recommend visiting.

    Front of the synagogue facing Monterey Square.
    Yoonie L.

    Third oldest Jewish Congregation in the US is not the first thing you would think is located in Savannah. Well, I didn't, anyway. I was very surprised to learn that Congregation Mickve Israel (CMI) is such a place. Designed by New York architect, Henry G. Harrison, CMI is an example of Neo-Gothic architecture. If you go on a rainy day like I did, you might just get lucky and get a private tour by one of their knowledgeable docents, eager to share the tale of how The William and Sarah set sail from England, carrying 42 Jews and their settlement in Savannah dating as far back as the city's history. - Parking - Metered street parking. $1/hr. CMI is located right in front of Monterey Square. - The Tour - When you arrive at the entrance door, you will need to ring the doorbell to get in. The tour costs $8 a person and was about 45 minutes long. I called ahead of time to see when the tours ran. Tour hours are from 10 am to 3:30 pm. The lady said that the tours are dependent on the walk-ins, so she advised to come when I could. There are several docents on standby who are all volunteers and members of the congregation. My friend and I lucked out because no one walked in when we arrived, so we got a private tour! The docent first brought us to the sanctuary and gave us a little introduction. He then played a recording that went into greater detail about CMI and its history. After the recording, we were led upstairs to the museum where we ended the tour. He pointed out certain things and talked a little bit about them and then left us to look at the articles at our leisure. He was so nice and so knowledgeable. There are so many cool facts and interesting artifacts to be found there, like the reasoning behind the long and narrow layout of the synagogue versus the traditional round structure; the Spock sign found on the stained glass as it relates to Leonard Nimoy, Star Trek and the Jewish faith; why an organ was used in the services which was unprecedented for a Jewish service and the synagogue's survival from a fire. They still have the original torahs brought over from England that they still use to this day for special occasions. In the museum, you can find a "Presidential" wall with letters from most of the presidents addressed to CMI (only missing a few presidents) and you can also find a 600 year old torah, hand scribed on deerskin. Holy! (pun intended). I kid you not, the handwriting could very well be mistaken for a laser printer. The letters are uniform and so straight! Could you imagine if you screwed up? No, no I cannot. There's also a pretty neat connection between 5 congregants, the Girls Scouts and one of my fave bakeries, Gottlieb's Bakery! This is such a beautiful place and I highly recommend anyone, regardless of your faith to check it out! CMI also organizes The Shalom Y'All Jewish Food Festival, so I'm definitely going to keep my eyes peeled for that!

    Stained glass windows
    Joni P.

    Fabulous tour guide, David, gave an awesome tour. Started in the sanctuary of the third oldest congregation in the country. Then went upstairs to a magnificent museum with Torah scrolls from the 1400s and other treasures. Don't miss this!

    Torah on Deerskin dated in the 1400s
    Jon M.

    Shalom y'all located just off Monterey Square on Gordan Street. The Only Neo-Gothic and third oldest Synagogue in North America Founded 1733. Our docent was very knowledgeable of the history and artifacts. The tour started in the sanctuary with a DVD describing the synagogue's history and the how the Jews got to and lived in Savannah. The explanation of the historical background was in great detail. Temple today has a reform congregation. Although blind he was able to fully explain each item as he pointed them out. The stain glass windows are very pretty. This building represents more than just a place of worship...it's the history of how Jews came to Savannah and how they earned their place in society. Upon the Ark we had the opportunity to view their Holocaust Torah. The building's architecture and decorations are magnificent. The small museum upstairs was neat contained letters from various US Presidents, Torah's written in the 1400's on deer skin plus numerous other items. The tour took about 45 minutes and well worth the time. We most definitely recommend a visit/tour if you like to visit churches and cathefrals.

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    9 years ago

    Gorgeous Temple, inside and out. Lovely square, beautiful Gothic architecture. Museum is very interesting and nice little gift shop.

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    10 years ago

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    7 years ago

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    9 years ago

    Beautiful temple and very informative tour given by Joel. Definitely worth the time to stop in and see a very unique place of worship.

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    9 years ago

    Beautiful building. Excellent tour including history of Savannah and informative museum and guides. A must see!

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    Review Highlights - Congregation Mickve Israel

    This is one of the oldest synagogues in the United States and houses the third oldest Torah in the Americas.

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    Congregation Mickve Israel - synagogues - Updated May 2026

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