An exhibition at the synagogue in Groningen is marking the building’s 120th anniversary. Called “Sjoelbouwers! 120 Years of the Groningen Synagogue,” the exhibition traces the development of the synagogue, from the first architectural plans to its festive inauguration in 1906 — and beyond.
“It also explores the building’s continued significance today as a place of culture, celebration, and remembrance,” the synagogue web site states.
Step by step, it reveals how the synagogue evolved into an iconic building: Jewish in symbolism and orientation, Eastern in its arches and patterns, Christian in its spatial structure, and unmistakably Groningen in its materials and craftsmanship.
The exhibition opened February 13 and runs until May 10. It includes historical photographs and original drawings, “as well as the story of the journey the master builders made in search of fitting inspiration.”
Thus, a narrative unfolds in which architecture, history, and identity converge. The exhibition reveals how a building can be more than just stone and glass: a place where generations meet, where memories are preserved, and where meaning is constantly rediscovered.
Designed by the Protestant church architect Tjeerd Kuipers (1857-1942), the massive Moorish style brick building replaced a synagogue built in the 18th century, which was no longer big enough for the community. Its facade is marked by an arched entrance and star of David rose window, flanked by two domed towers.
“Kuipers’ Christian background and extensive experience with church building also had a major influence on the design of the building,” the synagogue web site states. “The classic church shape is clearly visible: a short and a long barrel vault that together form a cross, a transept, an apse, a central nave and two side naves. The abundant stained glass finishes it off completely.”
After World War II, the small surviving Jewish community sold the synagogue, and it became a laundry, dyeing, and dry cleaning business, with an Apostolic church built in the women’s gallery. The Ark and other fittings were removed, painted over, damaged and/or otherwise lost.
The laundry left the building in 1973, and the synagogue stood vacant and in deteriorating condition until 1980-81, when a campaign to save it, spearhead by a Holocaust survivor, led to the municipality’s purchase of the building and its full-scale restoration, which included a redesign of the interior.
It was rededicated in 1981, and is used today as a cultural and education space as well as by the local Jewish community. It has a permanent exhibition on local Jewish history.