Neue Synagoge

Berlin: Neue Synagoge

After a seven-year construction period, the Jews of Berlin dedicated

the synagogue in 1866, which is located on Oranienburger Straߥ. This

splendid synagogue, which represented the self-confidence of the

Jewish community in Berlin, was designed by the architect, Eduard

Knoblauch, who selected the Alhambra in Grenada as a model. The design

strongly embodies oriental building elements. The two small towers

look like minarets, and the large cupola has a height of 50 meters and

is decorated with gold-gilded ribs. During the Kristallnacht (night of

the broken glass) of 1938, the Nazis devastated the synagogue; and, in

1943, a bombing destroyed the construction further. In the late 1950s,

the Communists demolished the remaining ruins. After the former GDR

had liberalized its political position on Jewish institutions, the

work of rebuilding the synagogue began. The Centrum Judaicum, opened

in 1995, is located in the present-day building. It is a museum for

the history of Jews in Berlin and for the synagogue.