Stadttempel - Vienna, Austria
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BakaGaijin
N 48° 12.698 E 016° 22.485
33U E 602128 N 5340736
The Stadttempel is the main synagogue of Vienna. It is located in the 1st district, at Seitenstettengasse 4.
Waymark Code: WM7T0A
Location: Wien, Austria
Date Posted: 11/29/2009
Views: 25
The synagogue was constructed between 1825 to 1826. The luxurious Stadttempel was fitted into the block of houses and hidden from plain view from the street. This was due to an edict issued by Emperor Joseph II that only Catholic places of worship were allowed to be built with facades fronting directly onto public streets. Ironically, this anti-Jewish edict saved the synagogue from total destruction during the Kristallnacht in November 1938, since the synagogue could not be destroyed without setting the buildings to which it was attached on fire. The Stadttempel was the only synagogue in the city to survive World War II, as the Nazis destroyed all of the other 93 synagogues and Jewish prayer-houses of Vienna.
The synagogue was designed in elegant Biedermeier style the Viennese architect Joseph Kornhäusel, architect to Johann I Joseph, Prince of Liechtenstein, for whom he had built palaces, theaters and other buildings. Construction was supervised by the official municipal architect, Jacob Heinz.
Two five-story apartment houses, Numbers 2 and 4 Seitenstettengasse were built at the same time as the synagogue, designed by the architect to screen the synagogue form the street in compliance with the law. The synagogue is structurally attached to the apartment building at # 4 Seitenstettengasse.
The synagogue itself is in the form of an oval. A ring of twelve Ionic columns support a two-tiered women's gallery. Originally, the galleries ended one column away from the Torah Ark, they were later extended to the columns beside the ark to provide more seating. the building is domed and lit by a lantern in the center of the dome, in classic Biedermeyer style.
The synagogue underwent renovation in 1895 and again in 1904 by the Jewish architect Wilhelm Stiassny, adding considerable ornamentation, and, in the opinion of architectural historian Rachel Wischnitzer, "the serene harmony of the design was spoiled by renovations." Damage inflicted on Kristallnacht was repaired in 1949. The "Stadttempel" was renovated once again in 1963 by Prof. Otto Niedermoser.
Today the synagogue is the main temple for the Viennese Jewish Community of about 7,000 members.
Source: Wikipedia