Designed by Vasily Stasov, the striking Grand Choral Synagogue opened in 1893 to provide a central place of worship for St. Petersburg’s growing Jewish community. Its lavishness indicates the pivotal role that Jews played in imperial St. Petersburg. The group of architects and supervisors chose the Moorish style for its design, modeled in part after Berlin's Oranienburger Straße New Synagogue with its melange of Moorish and Byzantine motifs. In the end, the project boasted an eclectic blend of neo-Byzantine and Moorish revival styles with Arabesque motifs.
After the 1917 Revolution and the following Russian Civil War, the Jewish community of St. Petersburg lost many members due to emigration. The Soviet authorities imposed restriction on bank accounts related to the synagogue and also announced the dissolution of the Jewish community of St. Petersburg. In post-revolutionary years no serious repairs were done in the synagogue building. On the threshold of 1980 Olympics held in Moscow and Leningrad, Leningrad Synagogue got into the number of the main sites of interest. That is why in 1978 the state allocated considerable resources to its repairs.
After the $5 million donation by the Safra family in 1999, the Synagogue underwent a revamp between 2000 and 2005. Upon conditions of the donation the St. Petersburg Synagogue was renamed The Edmond J. Safra Grand Choral Synagogue. Today, the Grand Choral Synagogue of St. Petersburg is the second largest in Europe and an architectural monument of federal importance. It's about 3,200 sq. metres in area and its domed tower is 47m high. The majestic Grand Hall can accommodate 1,200 worshippers. The synagogue's complex also consists of the Small Synagogue (Mikvah), kosher restaurant Le'Chaim and a gift shop called Kosher, where you can buy rabbi matryoshkas!