Jewish Heritage Europe

Italy Update: The Siena Synagogue, damaged by earthquake, is listed as one of Europa Nostra’s 2024 Seven Most Endangered Heritage Sites in Europe

The late 18th century synagogue in Siena, Italy, damaged by an earthquake in February 2023, has been listed by Europa Nostra as one of the 2024 Seven Most Endangered Heritage Sites in Europe. (We posted in February when the synagogue … continue reading →

Austria update: The magnificent domed former synagogue in St. Pölten reopens as a Jewish cultural center

Former Synagogue in St. Pölten Austria.

The magnificent domed former synagogue in St. Pölten, west of Vienna, opens again this week as a Jewish cultural center following a €4.6 million restoration and redevelopment financed in equal parts by the federal government, the province of Lower Austria, … continue reading →

Germany: Young volunteers are restoring the one-time synagogue in a flood-damaged, centuries-old building in Dernau

Participants of the 2023 flood relief camp in the former synagogue in Dernau Photo: Roland Rossner/German Foundation for Monument Protection

Young volunteers are restoring the one-time synagogue in a centuries-old building  in Dernau, on the Ahr River in western Germany, that suffered serious damage in devastating floods that swept the area in 2021. The next volunteer restoration camp is scheduled … continue reading →

Germany: City of Plauen has launched a crowd-funder to help preserve the surviving ruined wall of its pre-WW2 synagogue and create a memorial there

The Plauen synagogue, 1930s Photo: CC BY-SA 4.0

The city of Plauen, in eastern Germany near the Czech border, has launched a crowd-funding campaign to help support the preservation of the surviving ruined wall of its pre-WW2 synagogue and create a memorial there. The official launch took place … continue reading →

Czech Republic: Watch a video about the Prague Jewish Museum’s “Secrets of the Attic” geniza research project

Looking up in the restored synagogue in Breznice

We have posted several times about Genizas — depositories of worn out or disused ritual and other objects which for religious reasons cannot simply be thrown away. Sometimes they are buried in Jewish cemeteries; often they are hidden away in … continue reading →