In response to our post about the new near-replica synagogue in Kaliningrad, Russia (formerly Königsberg, East Prussia), JHE friend Prof. Carsten Wilke of Central European University has sent us this image of a book plate (ex libris) that features a drawing of the original synagogue.
He found it affixed to a copy of the Bible translated into German by Gotthold Salomon and published in Altona, Germany in 1837. The book was in the collection of the Ashkenazi Jewish community in Mexico City.
Carsten presumes that “J. Rosenthal” was probably Joseph Rosenthal, the community secretary, who wrote a history of the Königsberg synagogue as a celebratory Festschrift for the building’s 25th anniversary in 1921.
No-one would have imagined that it would stand only 17 more years, until it was torched on Kristallnacht, 1938.
The synagogue, with a dome 46 meters tall, was built in 1894-96 for the Liberal Jewish community and designed by the Berlin-based architectural firm Cremer and Wolfenstein.
Rosenthal’s book tells the story of the Jewish community and the construction of the synagogue, and also provides information about other synagogues then standing in the city, as well as prominent personalities.
You can access and download or read online Rosenthal’s entire book BY CLICKING HERE.