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WORLD’S LARGEST PERMANENT MENORAH

October 19, 2014 By Howard Kramer 4 Comments

Manado, Indonesia

World's Largest Menorah (faithfreedom.org)

World’s Largest Menorah (faithfreedom.org)

When one imagines the world’s largest, permanent free-standing Menorah, naturally one thinks of… Indonesia?  That’s right.  The biggest permanent Menorah in existence is not in Israel, America or Europe; it is, in fact, located in the world’s most populous Muslim country.  The city of Manado, on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, is home to a number of Indonesia’s less than 25 Jews (yes, that number is not a mistake; of Indonesia’s population of 238 million, barely 0.000001% are Jewish).  But that tiny community has made a surprisingly big mark.

Jewish settlers arrived in the East Indies along with other Dutch settlers in the 17th century. Largely associated with the Dutch exploratory and mercantile efforts, the Jewish community was never large.  It peaked at perhaps 2,000 during the early 20th century.  After Indonesia became independent and the country Muslim-majority, most of the Jews converted or fled.  Between 1945 and the 1960s, their numbers dropped to less than 100.  A herculean effort of the Jews in the city of Manado, along with help from Christian neighbors, keeps the community alive.

World's Largest Menorah (twitter.com)

World’s Largest Menorah (twitter.com)

In 2009, in a powerful if strange show of survival and community solidarity, the Jews of Manado erected a 62-foot Menorah on a mountainside overlooking the city.  Featuring an interesting blend of Jewish and oriental artistic stytles, it is now a dominant fixture on the skyline.  Although it is only a seven-branch candelabra, it is a popular rallying place for Jews gathering for the Hanukkah celebration.

The Manado Menorah is located on the outskirts of Manado, which is located on the northeastern most tip of Sulawesi, approximately 750 miles (mostly over open ocean) northeast of Jakarta.  It is an open site.  Web: www.north-sulawesi.org (official tourism website of North Sulawesi)

Filed Under: Hannukah, Jewish Tagged With: Southeast Asia

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About Howard Kramer

Howard Kramer is the creator and author of The Complete Pilgrim. He first took an interest in religious sites in his early twenties when traveling through Italy after college. In the two decades since he has traveled to more than two dozen countries and almost every state, visiting and photographing hundreds of the world’s greatest churches, synagogues and other places of religious interest. Howard has been writing about religious sites for the better part of the last decade, and The Complete Pilgrim is a culmination of years of his work and passion.

Comments

  1. Maria Kalopei says

    May 29, 2021 at 9:13 am

    I,m willing to travel one day to Manado

    Reply
    • Howard Kramer says

      September 6, 2021 at 3:10 pm

      I hope you get the chance!

  2. Annette Hoc says

    October 28, 2016 at 12:24 am

    “Well, i dont know sir exactly”. Actually you need fly from America to Jakarta. And buy Jakarta-Manado flight ticket (Direct flight please, Transit is have a high risk)

    Reply
  3. allon says

    September 22, 2015 at 1:38 am

    hello herold,
    would you have any idea how to contact the comunity? i’m israeli, traveling in indonesia with an american passport and it would be very intresting to visit them during these holy days.

    thank you,
    allon

    Reply

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Welcome to The Complete Pilgrim(TM)! This site, created by Howard Kramer, is a combination travel blog and online guide to the world's greatest sites of religious interest (with some historic and recreational places thrown in for good measure). All written content has been originally researched and produced and is provided free for public research and enjoyment. Thank you for visiting!

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Where would you like to go?

Africa (North) Africa (Sub-Sahara) Arabia Armenia/Azerbaijan/Georgia Australia/Pacific Austria/Switzerland Balkans Belgium/Netherlands British Isles Canada Caribbean Central Asia China Czech Republic Egypt France Germany Greece Hungary/Romania/Bulgaria India (NE)/Nepal India (NW) India (South)/Sri Lanka Iran/Iraq Israel Italy/Malta Japan/Korea Latin America Mexico Palestine Poland/Lithuania Russia Scandinavia Southeast Asia Spain/Portugal Syria/Jordan/Lebanon Turkey/Cyprus Ukraine US-California US-Mid Atlantic US-Midwest US-New England US-New York US-Pacific Northwest US-South US-Southwest

Contact Us

Have a comment, a great photo or a religious site you'd like to nominate for the weekly spotlight? We would love to hear from you. Email us at hkramer@thecompletepilgrim.com.

About the Author

Howard Kramer is the creator and author of The Complete Pilgrim. He first took an interest in religious sites in his early twenties when traveling through Italy after college. In the two decades since he has traveled to more than two dozen countries and almost every state, visiting and photographing hundreds of the world’s greatest churches, synagogues and other places of religious interest. Howard has been writing about religious sites for the better part of the last decade, and The Complete Pilgrim is the culmination of years of his work and passion.

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