Švėkšna was a typical shtetl, a small town, where Jews constituted more than one-third of the total town’s population. The Jewish community settled around the town’s main square, in the current J. Maciejausko, S. Dariaus, and S. Girėno and Gediminaičių streets. During the interwar period, Jews owned more than 20 shops and groceries, which offered a wide array of goods.

In the context of shtetls, Švėkšna is unique regarding the place where the synagogue was built. The local Jewish community managed to receive special permission to build a synagogue in the center of the town, near the main market square. The town was often ravaged by the huge fires. One fire that broke out in 1925 destroyed the entire central part of the town, including two synagogues. After the fire, only one synagogue was rebuilt.
In 1926 engineer L. Pronskis designed a synagogue, which was completed in 1928. The synagogue is built from bricks and has elements of Moorish architecture. This synagogue is also unique because it is one of several Jewish prayer buildings, which were visited by the President of Lithuania Antanas Smetona.