The Döbling Synagogue () was a former

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

that was located in the Dollinergasse in the suburb of

Oberdöbling Oberdöbling (Central Bavarian: ''Obadöbling'') was an independent municipality until 1892 and is today a part of Döbling, the 19th district of Vienna. It is also one of the 89 Katastralgemeinden. Geography Oberdöbling lies in the south of ...

, in

Döbling Döbling () is the 19th Districts of Vienna, district in the city of Vienna, Austria (). It is located in the north of Vienna, north of the districts Alsergrund and Währing. Döbling has some heavily populated urban areas with many residential bui ...

, in the 19th district of

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

. Completed in 1907, the building was ruined and partially destroyed in the

Kristallnacht ( ) or the Night of Broken Glass, also called the November pogrom(s) (, ), was a pogrom against Jews carried out by the Nazi Party's (SA) and (SS) paramilitary forces along with some participation from the Hitler Youth and German civilia ...

pogrom of November 1938. Later, the synagogue was

deconsecrated Deconsecration, also referred to as decommissioning or ''secularization'' (a term also used for the external confiscation of church property), is the removal of a religious sanction and blessing from something that had been previously consec ...

and in 1995, it was replaced with a modern apartment tower.

History

The erection of the Döbling Synagogue was preceded by the founding of the Temple Association “Döbling” at the end of the 19th century. It is not known exactly when the association was founded, but it was being supported by the

Israelitische Kultusgemeinde Wien The Jewish Community of Vienna ( or IKG) is the body that represents Vienna's Orthodox Jewish community. Today, the IKG has around 10,000 members. Throughout history, it has represented almost all of Austria's Jews, whose numbers are sufficient ...

in the 1890s. The association was based in the Vormosergasse; in 1904, it relocated to the Gatterburggasse. The association's plans for the construction of an expensive temple, probably in the Gatterburggasse, could not be realised by the association's leadership, and it seemed likely that the association would be disbanded in 1904. Although the majority of the association's members were at first in favour of disbanding it, a group formed around Julius Lederer with the goal of constructing at least a modest prayer room. Lederer brought together a new leadership committee which decided to purchase a building in the Dollinergasse (number 3). With the support of the Israelitische Kultusgemeinde, which subsidised the project with 40,000 Kronen, the building was transformed into a synagogue, designed by Julius Wohlmuth in the

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...

style. The synagogue was

sanctified Sanctified may refer to: *Sanctification, the process of making holy Music Albums * ''Sanctified'' (album), by Morgana Lefay, 1995 *''Sanctified'', by the Rance Allen Group, 1975 Songs * "Sanctified" (song), by Rick Ross featuring Big Sean and ...

on 5 September 1907. The synagogue featured a prayer room with galleries for women and a total capacity of 460 seats, a language and religious school, as well as rooms for the ''Frauenwohltätigkeitsverein f. d. XIX Bezirk'' (''Ladies’ Charity Organisation for the 19th District'') and the ''Bund jüdischer Eltern, Wien XIX'' (''League of Jewish Parents, Vienna 19th District''). The building was ruined and heavily damaged in the Kristallnacht pogrom in 1938. Later, it was deconsecrated and robbed of its decorative

façade A façade or facade (; ) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a loanword from the French language, French (), which means "frontage" or "face". In architecture, the façade of a building is often the most important asp ...

. The building was finally torn down in 1995 and an apartment tower was erected on the site. A small plaque in front of the tower recalls the former existence of the synagogue.

The building

The Döbling Synagogue was a relatively small, two-storey building, with a narrow front in the Dollinergasse. The building was turned into an Art Nouveau synagogue designed by architect Julius Wohlmut. The synagogue's

secessionist Secession is the formal withdrawal of a group from a Polity, political entity. The process begins once a group proclaims an act of secession (such as a declaration of independence). A secession attempt might be violent or peaceful, but the goal i ...

façade was noteworthy. It had risalits with narrow

gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...

s, each of which was flanked by a pair of

Stars of David The Star of David (, , ) is a symbol generally recognized as representing both Jewish identity and Judaism. Its shape is that of a hexagram: the compound of two equilateral triangles. A derivation of the Seal of Solomon was used for decora ...

. The middle gable was decorated with a large Star of David and stylised rays of sunlight. A large round arched window ornamented the building's front in the Dollinergasse. Two marble tablets were placed in the entrance hall of the synagogue. One honoured Lederer's work; the other bore a quote from the Hebrew Bible “My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples” (Isaiah 56:7). A memorial tablet for the victims of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

was added in 1919.

References

* *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dobling Synagogue 1890s establishments in Austria 1938 disestablishments in Austria 20th-century synagogues in Europe Art Nouveau architecture in Vienna Art Nouveau synagogues Buildings and structures in Döbling Buildings and structures demolished in 1995 Demolished buildings and structures in Austria Former synagogues in Vienna Jewish organizations established in the 1890s Synagogues completed in 1907 Synagogues destroyed during Kristallnacht (Austria)

History

The building

See also

References

External links