A former synagogue in Nijmegen that had served for decades as a Natural History Museum has now become an upscale sports center.
The red brick New Synagogue on residential Gerard Noodtstraat was designed by the architect Oscar Leeuw (1866-1944) in a Neo-Moorish architectural style and was dedicated on April 11, 1913. The Historic Synagogues of Europe web site writes that the small but elegant building
features a small dome, horseshoe-shaped arches, geometrical patterns and stained glass windows. The main façade includes a larger tower, adorned with the Stone Tablets, containing four smaller turrets positioned around the dome.
During WW2, Nijmegen’s Jews were almost totally deported to their deaths; the Germans confiscated the building and used as a warehouse.
According to the Jewish Cultural Quarter web site:
Germans and Dutch members of the collaborationist NSB party destroyed its contents; its torah scrolls and other ceremonial objects were never recovered.
A Jewish community was reestablished after the war, and the synagogue was sold. It was used as the local Natural History Museum from 1980 until 2017, when the museum moved to a different location. (The Jewish community today uses an earlier synagogue, built in the 18th century.)
After standing empty since 2017, the former New Synagogue was recently reopened as the Freyheyt Sports Lounge gym and physical fitness center, which offers both individual training on machines and group lessons.
The exterior still features the Ten Commandments on its central tower, and the interior still retains some original features, including vaulting, arches, and stained glass windows.
Read about the new function of the former synagogue and see photos
1 comment on “Netherlands: After standing empty for years, and before that used for decades as a museum, a former synagogue in Nijmegen has become an upscale sports hall”
I desperately hope and pray that this becomes Jewish community property once again and that Jews and the Torah return to this sacred place and it once again takes its place as the centre of a thriving and strong Jewish community. May G-d bless the historic Jewish community of The Netherlands.