Lecture, in German, by Rudolf Klein, based on his book Metropolitan Jewish Cemeteries in Central and Eastern Europe.
The lecture deals with metropolitan Jewish cemeteries in Central and Eastern Europe, from the aspects of art history, architecture and planning, landscaping, Jewish history, Jewish-Christian/Moslem dialogue, the influence between different European regions, including the impact of the Reform Movement and the Ashkenazi-Sephardi dialogue.
Its subject comprises the entirety of elements of 19th and 20th century Jewish cemeteries: urban location, morphology of cemeteries, gravestone typology, stylistic analysis, symbols and inscriptions – language, content, typography – tahara and ceremonial halls, wells, benches, pergolas, row- and section-markers, etc.
Rudolf Klein is professor of history of architecture at the Architecture and Civil Engineering Department of Szent István University. He specializes in history and theory of the 19th- and 20th-century architecture and its impact on religious identity. He is author of many books on history of architecture, including one dedicated to the synagogues in Hungary from late 18th c. to early 20th century, and one about Jewish cemeteries.
Secularization and immigration are changing the religious makeup of European societies. While more people identify as non-religious, new arrivals and conversion mean that the religious landscape is becoming increasingly more complex. This presents challenges and opportunities to organizations, government agencies and scholars engaged with maintaining and promoting cultural heritage. How should Europe’s plural religious pasts be represented? How can heritage be translated for audiences that do not identify with local religious traditions? What challenges and chances lie in the process of secularization? Can or should heritage organizations foster dialogue between groups in multi-religious societies? These pressing questions are at the heart of the conference “Religious Heritage in a Diverse Europe.”
In order to explore answers to these questions, the conference will bring into conversation scholars, museum curators, heritage professionals, visual artists, as well as leaders of religious and secular organizations.
The Centre for Religion and Heritage at the University of Groningen has long provided expertise and training in heritage studies. They have teamed up with two of the most important national heritage organizations: the Museum Catharijneconvent, which is the national Dutch museum for Christian heritage and history, and the Jewish Cultural Quarter, which runs the Jewish Historical Museum in Amsterdam. Our partner on the European level is Future of Religious Heritage, the Brussels-based network for historic places of worship.
A commemoration of Theodor Schreier, the architect of the synagogue in St. Pölten, will include the unveiling of a commemorative plaque to the architect and his wife — both Holocaust victims who died in the Terezin ghetto/camp north of Prague — and a memorial symphonic concert featuring the music of Brahms, Bloch, Dvorak, Janacek, and Schulhoff.
The synagogue is now the home of the Institut für jüdische Geschichte Österreichs — Institute for Austrian Jewish History.
Experts from Germany, The Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland and Great Britain will meet for a Herrenhausen Symposium at Herrenhausen Palace in Hanover to discuss the issue of reusing church buildings from a European comparative view. The intention is to develop new perspectives.
See details and program at web site
Curator Christopher Meiller leads a tour to the Jewish quarter including the former community synagogue and the two Jewish cemeteries.
- Registration is mandatory up to 2 days before the event, limited number of participants (by phone: +43 (0) 2682 65145 or by E-mail: info@ojm.at).
- If there is a high demand, the events / tours / tours will be repeated.
- Free donation.
- Please take your own mouth and nose protection with you (for use where required by the authorities).
There are two Jewish cemeteries and two tours — the Old Jewish Cemetery at 6 p.m. and the New Jewish Cemetery at 7 p.m. You can register for one or both.
In the old Jewish cemetery the oldest gravestone goes back to the year 1679. The cemetery was used until the summer of 1875. The new Jewish cemetery was established in fall of 1875 as the “successor cemetery” to the older one and was used until 1938. In just a few unusual cases, there were burials after 1945.
Registration is mandatory up to 2 days before the event, limited number of participants (by phone: +43 (0) 2682 65145 or by E-mail: info@ojm.at).
Guided tour of the Wertheimer synagogue, accessible as part of the Austrian Jewish Museum. Dedicated to Jewish life in the province of Burgenland, the museum opened in 1982 in the former mansion of Samson Wertheimer (1659-1724). The private synagogue is part of the mansion.
Wertheimer had a prominent role at the Viennese court, where from 1694 to 1709 he worked for emperors Leopold I, Joseph I, and Charles VI as Hofoberfaktor or chief administrator of financial affairs. He also served the Esterhazy family in Burgenland and was Rabbi of Hungary and Moravia.
A mob destroyed Eisenstadt’s main synagogue on Kristallnacht in 1938 but the they overlooked the Wertheimer Shul, hidden in the mansion. The synagogue was re-consecrated for Jewish worship in 1979.
In its current form the synagogue dates almost entirely from 1832, having been refurbished after the Eisenstadt ghetto was badly damaged in a fire of 1795. Its design includes many elements typical of the period, including a high ceiling and a chandelier hanging from a painted rosette. At the inauguration of the building in 1834, members of the community contributed ceremonial silver, a painted glass beaker for the Hevrah Kadisha (Burial Society), Torah scrolls, an elaborate Parohet (Ark curtain) and a parchment Megillah (Scroll of the Book of Esther) executed by the scribe Elie Gabriel, all of which are among the items displayed in the museum today.
A nighttime tour of the Old and New Jewish cemeteries, in Eisenstadt. Bring a flashlight!
Of the older cemetery, in used from 1679 to 1874, can be considered one of the most important Jewish cemeteries in Europe. The newer cemetery, used until 1938, tells stories about the last decades of Jewish life in Eisenstadt.
Guided tour of the Wertheimer synagogue, accessible as part of the Austrian Jewish Museum. Dedicated to Jewish life in the province of Burgenland, the museum opened in 1982 in the former mansion of Samson Wertheimer (1659-1724). The private synagogue is part of the mansion.
Wertheimer had a prominent role at the Viennese court, where from 1694 to 1709 he worked for emperors Leopold I, Joseph I, and Charles VI as Hofoberfaktor or chief administrator of financial affairs. He also served the Esterhazy family in Burgenland and was Rabbi of Hungary and Moravia.
A mob destroyed Eisenstadt’s main synagogue on Kristallnacht in 1938 but the they overlooked the Wertheimer Shul, hidden in the mansion. The synagogue was re-consecrated for Jewish worship in 1979.
In its current form the synagogue dates almost entirely from 1832, having been refurbished after the Eisenstadt ghetto was badly damaged in a fire of 1795. Its design includes many elements typical of the period, including a high ceiling and a chandelier hanging from a painted rosette. At the inauguration of the building in 1834, members of the community contributed ceremonial silver, a painted glass beaker for the Hevrah Kadisha (Burial Society), Torah scrolls, an elaborate Parohet (Ark curtain) and a parchment Megillah (Scroll of the Book of Esther) executed by the scribe Elie Gabriel, all of which are among the items displayed in the museum today.
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