Large-scale renovation work set to last six years is under way at the monumental synagogue on Halderstraße in Augsburg, with the German government covering half of the estimated €26 million costs.
Work officially started at the end of July, and the renovation process — which includes structural work as well as technical and security upgrades — is expected to be completed in 2028.
Designed by the architects Fritz Landauer and Heinrich Lömpel, the synagogue was built in 1913-17 and incorporates art nouveau, byzantine, and Moorish styles. Its facade is notable for three large, arched windows, and the sanctuary is surmounted by a nearly 30 meter high dome made of reinforced-concrete, whose inner surface is covered by a green-gold mosaic and extensive decorative imagery.
The only urban synagogue in Bavaria to have survived the Nazi period and WW2, it was devastated but not destroyed on Kristallnacht in November 1938, and was renovated between 1974 and 1985, when it was reopened and rededicated, with its west wing housing the Jewish Museum Augsburg Swabia, which opened at that time as the first independent Jewish museum in postwar Germany.
The sanctuary remained a place of worship, serving the local Jewish community, which, thanks to immigration from the former Soviet Union, now numbers around 1,400.
According to the Jewish community web site, the restoration will entail a complete exterior repair of the entire building, as well as
the renovation of the synagogue, the community buildings and outbuildings as well as the renovation of the museum. In addition, a multifunctional pavilion is to be attached to the museum, which will serve modern museum standards and can be used for temporary exhibitions or as a seminar room, among other things.
“It’s about bringing the building fabric up to date,” architect Martin Spaenle was quoted as saying by the Augsburger Algemeine.
The large west window, for example, urgently needs to be repaired. Building services and fire protection are renewed. Community members and visitors should be able to use the building and its facilities barrier-free in the future. The Jewish Museum gets a new air-conditioned function room. Safety precautions are also being further improved.
The government announced in February that it was allocating €13 million to the restoration. The remaining financing will come from other public and private sources, including the Jewish community.
“The lively growth of Jewish life in Germany after the Holocaust is a great enrichment for our entire society and a sign of trust,” Minister of State for Culture Claudia Roth said at the time.
It is and remains our responsibility to create the conditions for the development of Jewish life. This includes the vehement fight against anti-Semitism as well as the promotion of Jewish culture. The Augsburg synagogue is a visible place of Jewish life in the heart of Augsburg, it is an example of the long and diverse tradition of Jewish life in Germany. Because its cultural and historical significance goes far beyond Bavaria, the federal government is funding the general renovation with 13 million euros. In doing so, we would like to make our contribution to ensuring that the Augsburg synagogue remains a place of Jewish culture, religion and tradition in the future, a place of understanding between different cultures, a place for remembering the future.”
Government funding announcement
Jewish community web site — info about the restoration work
Read the Augsburger Algemeine article