Activists are trying to raise enough money to purchase the 14th century synagogue in the Austrian town of Korneuburg, on the Danube north of Vienna, in order to restore it and open it to the public. The building is currently used as a garage, but it was listed as a historical landmark in the 1980s.
Toby Axelrod reports in the Jewish Chronicle:
All that stands between the local activists and their dream is about $150,000, (£87,000) said a new member of the [activist] group, American Jewish teacher Jeff Kellner, who lives with his wife in the town of some 12,000 residents. The group has been trying for more than 25 years to secure enough cash to renovate the structure and open it to the public.[…] The problem is finding a buyer. Neither the state nor Austria’s Jewish community is in a position to shell out the money, although they would gladly work with the local committee if the property is secured.
The approximated 100 square meter synagogue is believed to have been built in the 14th century, making it one of the oldest standing synagogue buildings in Europe. It has not been used as a synagogue, however, since anti-Jewish pogroms and the expulsion of Jews in 1421. In the past it was used as a silo and a flour mill.
In her book Synagogues of Europe, Carol Herselle Krinsky described the nearly rectangular architectural plan and features such as tall pointed windows and vaulting.