The Great Synagogue of Zhovkva, also called the Sobieski Shul, is one of the finest surviving examples of a fortress synagogue in Eastern Europe — a type that combined the functions of a house of worship with genuine defensive capability. Built between 1692 and 1698, its walls are two metres thick and the heavy doors could withstand attack during times of violence.
The Jewish community of Zhovkva was wiped out during the Holocaust, and the synagogue's roof and most of its interior were destroyed. For decades afterwards it served as a warehouse. Restoration work began seriously after the building was included in the World Monuments Watch list in 2000, but progress has been slow and the structure continues to deteriorate despite international attention. The exterior Renaissance shell is still imposing, and the building stands as a monument to the Jewish life that once made Zhovkva a significant centre of Eastern European Jewry. It sits about a kilometre north of the main market square.