Magen David Synagogue

Magen David Synagogue is a 19th-century Jewish synagogue located on Canning Street in the BBD Bagh area of central Kolkata, West Bengal. Completed in 1884 by Elias David Ezra in memory of his father David Joseph Ezra, it is the largest synagogue in eastern India. Built in Italian Renaissance style with a distinctive red-brick facade, clock tower and stained-glass interiors, it is protected by the Archaeological Survey of India and reflects the heritage of Kolkata's historic Baghdadi Jewish community.

Visitors can expect a large red-brick synagogue in Italian Renaissance style set on Canning Street in central Kolkata's business district. The exterior features a prominent clock tower, arched windows and a star of David. Inside, the prayer hall has a high vaulted ceiling, stained-glass windows, chandeliers, polished marble floors and an ornate ark. The compound is quiet and maintained by caretakers. Access is by prior permission and visits are typically guided, focusing on architecture and heritage.

Completed on 11 September 1884 by Elias David Ezra in memory of his father David Joseph Ezra, a prominent Baghdadi Jewish merchant of Kolkata. Designed in Italian Renaissance style by architect Mackintosh Burn, it served the thriving Baghdadi Jewish community that settled in Kolkata in the late 18th and 19th centuries. It is the second synagogue built by the Ezra family after Beth El and is now a protected monument of the Archaeological Survey of India.

Represents the religious and cultural heritage of Kolkata's Baghdadi Jewish community. As the largest and most architecturally elaborate synagogue in eastern India, it remains a centre for Jewish heritage, festivals and community memory, and is an important stop on Kolkata's heritage and religious tourism circuit alongside Beth El and Neveh Shalome synagogues.