Lecture, in German, by Rudolf Klein, based on his book Metropolitan Jewish Cemeteries in Central and Eastern Europe.
The lecture deals with metropolitan Jewish cemeteries in Central and Eastern Europe, from the aspects of art history, architecture and planning, landscaping, Jewish history, Jewish-Christian/Moslem dialogue, the influence between different European regions, including the impact of the Reform Movement and the Ashkenazi-Sephardi dialogue.
Its subject comprises the entirety of elements of 19th and 20th century Jewish cemeteries: urban location, morphology of cemeteries, gravestone typology, stylistic analysis, symbols and inscriptions – language, content, typography – tahara and ceremonial halls, wells, benches, pergolas, row- and section-markers, etc.
Rudolf Klein is professor of history of architecture at the Architecture and Civil Engineering Department of Szent István University. He specializes in history and theory of the 19th- and 20th-century architecture and its impact on religious identity. He is author of many books on history of architecture, including one dedicated to the synagogues in Hungary from late 18th c. to early 20th century, and one about Jewish cemeteries.
A commemoration of Theodor Schreier, the architect of the synagogue in St. Pölten, will include the unveiling of a commemorative plaque to the architect and his wife — both Holocaust victims who died in the Terezin ghetto/camp north of Prague — and a memorial symphonic concert featuring the music of Brahms, Bloch, Dvorak, Janacek, and Schulhoff.
The synagogue is now the home of the Institut für jüdische Geschichte Österreichs — Institute for Austrian Jewish History.
Curator Christopher Meiller leads a tour to the Jewish quarter including the former community synagogue and the two Jewish cemeteries.
- Registration is mandatory up to 2 days before the event, limited number of participants (by phone: +43 (0) 2682 65145 or by E-mail: info@ojm.at).
- If there is a high demand, the events / tours / tours will be repeated.
- Free donation.
- Please take your own mouth and nose protection with you (for use where required by the authorities).
There are two Jewish cemeteries and two tours — the Old Jewish Cemetery at 6 p.m. and the New Jewish Cemetery at 7 p.m. You can register for one or both.
In the old Jewish cemetery the oldest gravestone goes back to the year 1679. The cemetery was used until the summer of 1875. The new Jewish cemetery was established in fall of 1875 as the “successor cemetery” to the older one and was used until 1938. In just a few unusual cases, there were burials after 1945.
Registration is mandatory up to 2 days before the event, limited number of participants (by phone: +43 (0) 2682 65145 or by E-mail: info@ojm.at).
Guided tour of the Wertheimer synagogue, accessible as part of the Austrian Jewish Museum. Dedicated to Jewish life in the province of Burgenland, the museum opened in 1982 in the former mansion of Samson Wertheimer (1659-1724). The private synagogue is part of the mansion.
Wertheimer had a prominent role at the Viennese court, where from 1694 to 1709 he worked for emperors Leopold I, Joseph I, and Charles VI as Hofoberfaktor or chief administrator of financial affairs. He also served the Esterhazy family in Burgenland and was Rabbi of Hungary and Moravia.
A mob destroyed Eisenstadt’s main synagogue on Kristallnacht in 1938 but the they overlooked the Wertheimer Shul, hidden in the mansion. The synagogue was re-consecrated for Jewish worship in 1979.
In its current form the synagogue dates almost entirely from 1832, having been refurbished after the Eisenstadt ghetto was badly damaged in a fire of 1795. Its design includes many elements typical of the period, including a high ceiling and a chandelier hanging from a painted rosette. At the inauguration of the building in 1834, members of the community contributed ceremonial silver, a painted glass beaker for the Hevrah Kadisha (Burial Society), Torah scrolls, an elaborate Parohet (Ark curtain) and a parchment Megillah (Scroll of the Book of Esther) executed by the scribe Elie Gabriel, all of which are among the items displayed in the museum today.
A nighttime tour of the Old and New Jewish cemeteries, in Eisenstadt. Bring a flashlight!
Of the older cemetery, in used from 1679 to 1874, can be considered one of the most important Jewish cemeteries in Europe. The newer cemetery, used until 1938, tells stories about the last decades of Jewish life in Eisenstadt.
Guided tour of the Wertheimer synagogue, accessible as part of the Austrian Jewish Museum. Dedicated to Jewish life in the province of Burgenland, the museum opened in 1982 in the former mansion of Samson Wertheimer (1659-1724). The private synagogue is part of the mansion.
Wertheimer had a prominent role at the Viennese court, where from 1694 to 1709 he worked for emperors Leopold I, Joseph I, and Charles VI as Hofoberfaktor or chief administrator of financial affairs. He also served the Esterhazy family in Burgenland and was Rabbi of Hungary and Moravia.
A mob destroyed Eisenstadt’s main synagogue on Kristallnacht in 1938 but the they overlooked the Wertheimer Shul, hidden in the mansion. The synagogue was re-consecrated for Jewish worship in 1979.
In its current form the synagogue dates almost entirely from 1832, having been refurbished after the Eisenstadt ghetto was badly damaged in a fire of 1795. Its design includes many elements typical of the period, including a high ceiling and a chandelier hanging from a painted rosette. At the inauguration of the building in 1834, members of the community contributed ceremonial silver, a painted glass beaker for the Hevrah Kadisha (Burial Society), Torah scrolls, an elaborate Parohet (Ark curtain) and a parchment Megillah (Scroll of the Book of Esther) executed by the scribe Elie Gabriel, all of which are among the items displayed in the museum today.
Lecture by Michael Miller, of CEU
Budapest is sometimes called the “Paris of the East,” but in the 1890s, it acquired a new, less flattering nickname: “Judapest.” Karl Lueger, the antisemitic mayor of Vienna – who hated Hungarians more than he hated Jews – is often credited with coining this derogatory nickname for a city that he thought had become more “Jewish” than “Hungarian.” Budapest was Europe’s fastest-growing city at the time, with a flurry of cultural and commercial activity that fascinated — and sometimes appalled — contemporary residents and visitors. This talk will examine the image of Budapest in the decades before and after the First World War, exploring the ways in which Hungary’s capital city was imagined by Jews and non-Jews alike as a quintessentially Jewish metropolis.
The evening will be chaired by Professor Mark E. Smith, President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Southampton. It will be hosted by Professor Mark Cornwall (University of Southampton, Parkes Institute)
The event will be held on Zoom. Please register by Monday 19th April 16:00 here:
https://www.southampton.ac.uk/parkes/news/events/2021/04/20-parkes-lecture-2021.page
Speaker biography: Michael L. Miller is Associate Professor in the Nationalism Studies Program at Central European University in Budapest, Hungary, and co-founder of the university’s Jewish Studies program. He received his PhD in History from Columbia University, where he specialized in Jewish and Central European History. Michael’s research focuses on the impact of nationality conflicts on the religious, cultural, and political development of Central European Jewry in the long nineteenth century. His articles have appeared in Slavic Review, Austrian History Yearbook, Simon Dubnow Institute Yearbook, Múlt és Jövő , The Jewish Quarterly Review and AJS Review. Miller’s book, Rabbis and Revolution: The Jews of Moravia in the Age of Emancipation, was published by Stanford University Press in 2011. It appeared in Czech translation as Moravští Židé v době emancipace (Nakladatelství Lidové noviny, 2015). He is currently working on a history of Hungarian Jewry, titled Manovill: A Tale of Two Hungarys.
Baden bei Wien – Baden by Vienna – was long a popular spa and summer guests were originally attracted by the glamorous presence of the Imperial Court.
Many of these families who spent their summers in Baden had Jewish roots. They built villas in a variety of styles – historicist, art nouveau and modernist – a fascinating mixture and shaped summer life in Baden until 1938.
This exhibition is dedicated to ten families and their villas.
Click here for an interactive map with the villas
The Synagogue in Kobersdorf reopens after a three-year restoration process. It will be a cultural and educational centre, with a focus on local Jewish history and heritage.
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