The magnificent domed former synagogue in St. Pölten, west of Vienna, opens again this week as a Jewish cultural center following a €4.6 million restoration and redevelopment financed in equal parts by the federal government, the province of Lower Austria, and the city of St. Pölten.
Work included renovation of the roof, installation of new lighting, heating, and room technology, and repairs to safeguard the synagogue from water damage.
It launches its new role with Open Days this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (April 19-21), when people may visit the synagogue and its new exhibits free of charge. Martha Keil, the director of the Institute for Jewish History in Austria, which has been housed in the synagogue complex since 1988, will lead guided tours.
In June, the synagogue will host two “Jewish Weekends” Jewish culture festivals, focusing on concerts and talks centered on various aspects of Jewish music, from classical to klezmer to pop.
The synagogue now hosts a new permanent exhibit in the women’s gallery called The Synagogue and Its Community, which shows “the construction, devastation and two-time renovation of the synagogue building as well as the community life and fate of Jewish people who worked here.” It features objects, photos, and documents as well as interactive media stations.
A temporary exhibit, Moving Things. Objects and Their Jewish Stories, will run from May 17 to November 10. It deals with objects owned by Jews who were expelled by the Nazis:
“These things are therefore witnesses to a history of violence. If they themselves were subjected to violent intervention, another movement results: the damage changed their material nature and appearance. However, this also changed their use: they were disposed of, misused or, like many ritual objects, into a museum piece.”
The synagogue in St. Pölten was dedicated on August 17, 1913 — the eve of the birthday of Emperor Franz Joseph; the dedication event closed with the Imperial Anthem. It is an imposing building with a central dome and tall arched decoration on the facades, built in a style that has been described as “national romanticism.”
It was designed by the Viennese architect Theodor Schreier — who died in the Nazi ghetto/concentration camp Terezin — working with his partner Viktor Postelberg (1869-1920). Schreier was honored with a commemorative plaque and memorial concert at the synagogue in September 2019.
The synagogue now comes under the umbrella of several regional museums overseen by the Lower Austrian Culture Association (NÖKU), a management holding that brings together more than 30 artistic and scientific institutions.
Web site of the Institute for Jewish History in Austria
See our 2021 post when the renovation got under way
Read a local media article about the re-opening
Read our post about the Schreier commemoration
Read a history of the synagogue (in English)
Read a lengthy article by Samuel Gruber about the synagogue and its history
Read a lengthy history of the synagogue and its architects Schreier and Postelberg (in German)
1 comment on “Austria update: The magnificent domed former synagogue in St. Pölten reopens as a Jewish cultural center”
I would love to show my play Theresa in this new Cultural Centre. It reveals the life of a Viennese Jewish music student who fled Vienna and found refuge in England. She went with her employer to Guernsey where she was betrayed by the Island authorities to the occupying Germans. Theresia Steiner was gassed in Auschwitz in August 1942. The play has been seen in England, France and Germany. It was also a BBC Radio drama renamed Himmelweg/The Road to Paradise. I would love to show it in Vienna. Might we discuss?