Two graceful synagogues stand shoulder to shoulder in the centre of the town. This is one of only a few unique synagogue complexes left in our country. The Joniškis synagogue complex consists of the White and Red synagogues standing parallel next to each other. Both buildings have now been rebuilt and restored, and their surroundings have been beautifully landscaped. Interestingly, although the synagogues stand close to the central town square, you will not easily see them from the main street. It turns out that in the old days Jewish houses of prayer could only be built on side streets, deep inside the blocks. In addition, synagogues could only be built at a set distance from Catholic churches and could not be larger than them. So why were two large synagogues built in such a small town? Larger synagogues were built, and survive to this day, only in towns with bigger populations, such as Kaunas and Vilnius, and also Kėdainiai. It turns out that around 1737, at the invitation of Augustus III, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, many Jewish craftsmen came to live in Joniškis. According to the 1897 census, 2,272 of Joniškis's 4,774 inhabitants were Jews. The way of life of almost 50% of the Jewish community was closely linked to religion and places of worship. So it is no surprise that large synagogues appeared in Joniškis, built precisely when the town's Jewish community was at its largest. "The White Synagogue, built in 1823, is in the Late Classicist style; it was later repaired and acquired Romantic features. It was the summer synagogue and was also used for special occasions. After the Second World War it was turned into a warehouse, and later into a sports hall, which completely destroyed its interior. Replaced windows and auxiliary rooms tacked on from several sides disfigured the exterior so much that it was hard to see any architectural beauty. For several decades the building stood abandoned. The Joniškis Red Synagogue, built in 1865, is a typical Historicist building in the 'brick' style with Neo-Gothic architectural elements. It is smaller than the White Synagogue and was therefore used in winter. The building has a rectangular plan with a two-storey western part and a small rectangular projection for the Aron Kodesh on the east side. On the west side was a vestibule with stairs to the women's gallery on the second floor, and in the eastern part the men's prayer hall, with a niche for the Torah scrolls in the middle section of its east wall between the windows. After the Second World War the synagogue housed a boiler room. The walls were neither repainted nor plastered, so the authentic wall paintings have survived. A flat was fitted out on the second floor." Today both buildings belong to the Joniškis Museum of History and Culture, and various events are held here.