[3] Located in one of the many tiny streets of the Old Town of Dubrovnik, it is connected to a neighboring building which has long been owned by the Tolentino family, who have been caretakers of the synagogue for centuries.

After the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492, many of the expelled went east and some eventually settled into independent city of Dubrovnik, where there was already a small Jewish community.

During the Croatian War of Independence, the city was besieged by the Serbian and Montenegrin paramilitary forces in what has been called the Siege of Dubrovnik.

Approximately two thirds of the old city was in some way damaged, including the synagogue, where shells and grenades hit the adjacent buildings in 1991, shattering the windows of the sanctuary and Jewish Community Headquarters.

[6] In 1992, an artillery shell hit through the roof of the synagogue, causing the congregation to pack up over 80 items to send to the Yeshiva University museum, which included a 13th-century Torah and silver ornaments and textiles.