The Jewish community in Konstanz, Germany, has a brand new synagogue.
The new synagogue in the city, located on Lake Constance on the Swiss border, was inaugurated on Sunday (Nov. 10) — 81 years after the city’s pre-WW2 synagogue was destroyed in the Reichspogromnacht — Kristallnacht.
The original synagogue, built in 1883, had been torched already in 1936 but renovated in 1937 before finally going up in flames in November 1938.
Congregation members and other celebrants joyfully carried Torah scrolls to the new building from the private prayer room on the site of the destroyed synagogue about 50 meters away, which had been used by the community. Following the inauguration ceremony, a new rabbi was installed.
Watch this local TV report:
Taking part in the ceremony was Winfried Kretschmann, Minister-President of Baden-Württemberg state. He hailed the dedication as a blow in the battle against “forces of hatred and violence” and pledged full support to Jews in the fight against antisemitism. “You are a valuable and indispensable part of our society,” he said.
The parade through the street with the Torahs and the inauguration took place under tight security, given the attack on the synagogue in Halle, Germany, just a month ago.
The Konstanz Jewish community comes under the Baden Regional Jewish Community and numbers around 300 people, and the Baden regional community built the new synagogue, which is reported to have cost around €5 million to construct.
The Konstanz community is an “Einheitsgemeinde” including all demonimations, and the new building includes a main sanctuary for the Orthodox congregation and a smaller space for the Liberal congregation. It has simple, stark lines and a tall, narrow street facade marked with horizontal striping.
The architect, Fritz Wilhelm, had already designed a new synagogue for the Jewish community in Lorrach — which also comes under Baden and opened in 2008.
Planning for the new synagogue began around 15 years ago, and ground was broken on November 9, 2016 — the web site Alemannia Judaica has a detailed time line of the planning and construction phases, including photos.
See a slide show of the contruction process
Read an article (in German) about the synagogue and dedication
See a time line of the synagogue construction — with many pictures documenting the entire process