The first stone structure in Minsk, construction began in 1560. The synagogue was not heated, hence the name “Cold”.It stood on Belarusian soil for over 400 years. In that time, the building changed hands between the Orthodox and Catholic Churches for long spans, but it functioned mostly as a synagogue until its closure by the Soviet authorities in 1924.The synagogue building survived the revolution, the 1930s, and the Great Patriotic War, but in the mid-1960s the construction of the Belpromproekt building encroached upon the walls of the former Cold Synagogue. Efforts at dismantling the synagogue were fruitless as its walls were too solid, and it was blown up in sections. By 1969 almost everything was destroyed, save for the foundation. However, it too was blown up and removed in the mid-90s.Today, on the former site of the lost ancient building in Minsk, there is a parking lot, the “Belpromproekt” building, and the shopping center “3, Nemiga Street”.