The life of the Jews began to improve after Serbia was set on the path to independence in the first half of the 19th century, and they were granted equal civil rights after the Congress of Berlin (1878).

The ceremony was attended by the envoys of the King and the government of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, the representatives of the Jewish congregations, of various corporations, the President of the National Assembly, and the Chief Rabbi Dr. Alcalay.

The interior was designed to combine multiple functions in response to the Jewish community’s various needs: worship, education, office and dwelling spaces.

The front façade is symmetrical and well-proportioned, with the decorative accent placed on the gable with David’s shield, a six-pointed star enclosed in an oculus.

In addition to these elements of the front elevation which lend an impression of well-balanced horizontality, verticality is accentuated by two protruding two-storey end bays topped with small towers lightened by arched openings on three sides.

The wide central staircase of three flights, adorned with a simple balustrade and two lampposts, adds to the overall impression of the building’s dignified and ceremonial character.

In terms of layout and style, the staircase is a reference to French neoclassicism, i.e. to the northern façade of the Petit Trianon at Versailles.

Verticality it is accentuated by the tall round-arched windows in the zone of the ritual space of the synagogue, and by the projecting tower-topped end bays that flank the central portion of the façade.

The elongated hekhal of the Sukat Shalom synagogue, encompassing the ground-floor and gallery levels, is orientated east to west and divided with two rows of eight-sided columns with ornamented capitals.

The holiest and most ornate element is the aron hakodesh against the east wall of the temple, which enshrines the Ashkenazi and Sephardic Torah scrolls and Hebrew Scriptures.

This disposition was determined primarily by the historic urban matrix of the district, characterised by an irregular street pattern and elongated lots.

The city's Ashkenazi Jews, many of them from Central Europe and nearby Austria-Hungary, mostly lived near the Sava river in the area where the current active synagogue stands.

A beautiful early-20th century Sephardic synagogue, then one of the most prominent buildings in the city, stood in today's Cara Uroša Street (see image right) complete with ritual bathing quarters.