The Königsberg Synagogue, called at the time, the New Synagogue (), was a former

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...

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 ...

congregation and

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 ...

, located in Königsberg in Prussia,

East Prussia East Prussia was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1772 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 1871); following World War I it formed part of the Weimar Republic's ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

(now

Kaliningrad Kaliningrad,. known as Königsberg; ; . until 1946, is the largest city and administrative centre of Kaliningrad Oblast, an Enclave and exclave, exclave of Russia between Lithuania and Poland ( west of the bulk of Russia), located on the Prego ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

). The New Synagogue was designed by Cremer & Wolffenstein in the

Romanesque Revival Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Revival buildings tended t ...

style, Aesopian in its crafting, and completed in 1896 to replace the ''Old Synagogue''. The New Synagogue was destroyed by

Nazis Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

in the aftermath of ''

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 ...

'', that occurred during November 1938. Also destroyed was the ''Adass Jisroel'' synagogue. In 2018 a completely new synagogue was opened on the site of the former destroyed synagogue, at 1a Oktyabr'skaya Street, Kaliningrad.

History

In 1508 two Jewish physicians were allowed to settle in the city. 307 Jews lived at Königsberg in 1756. There were 1,027 Jews in Königsberg in 1817. In 1864 there lived 3,024 Jews. In 1880 there were 5,000 Jews at the city. In 1900 there were only 3,975 Jews in Königsberg. The first synagogue was a chapel built in 1680 in Burgfreiheit (a location which was a ducal Prussian immunity district around the castle, not administrated by the city). In 1704 there was the formation of the

congregation, when they acquired a

Jewish cemetery A Jewish cemetery ( ''beit almin'' or ''beit kvarot'') is a cemetery where Jews are buried in keeping with Halakha, Jewish tradition. Cemeteries are referred to in several different ways in Hebrew, including ''beit kevarot'' (house of s ...

and when they founded a " Chevra Kaddisha". In 1722 they received a constitution. In 1756 a new synagogue in Schnürlingsdamm street was dedicated but destroyed by the city fire in 1811. In 1815 a new synagogue was constructed on the same location, meanwhile called Synagogenstrasse #2. The second constitution of the Jewish congregation was issued in 1811. Some Orthodox congregants seceded from the ''Jewish Congregation of Königsberg'', which they deemed too liberal, and founded the ''Israelite Synagogal Congregation of «Adass Jisroel»'' (). In 1893 the ''Israelite Synagogal Congregation'' built its own synagogue in Synagogenstraße #14–15. Soon later the mainstream ''Jewish Congregation of Königsberg'' built a new and larger place of worship, therefore called ''New Synagogue'', dedicated in August 1896 in

Lomse Lomse was a quarter of eastern Königsberg in Germany (now Kaliningrad, Russia). Lomse was located on the western end of Lomse Island in the Pregel River; the large island is now known as October Island (). The Neuer Pregel, the northern branch ...

. The synagogue in Synagogenstrasse #2 was called ''Old Synagogue'' since. The ''New Synagogue'', as well as the ''Old Synagogue'', were destroyed in the

November Pogrom ( ) 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 ...

in the night of November 9–10, 1938. The Adass Jisroel synagogue was terribly vandalised, but spared from arson, and could thus be restored to serve as Jewish place of worship. In July 1939 the Gestapo ordered the merger of the smaller ''Israelite Synagogal Congregation'' in the larger ''Jewish Congregation of Königsberg'', which now had to enlist also all non-Jews such as Christians and irreligionists, whom the Nazis categorised as Jews because they had three or more Jewish grandparents. The systematic deportations of Jewish Germans (and Gentile Germans of Jewish descent), starting in October 1941, brought the congregational life in Königsberg to a halt by November 1942.

Replacement synagogue

In October 2011 the foundation cornerstone of the new synagogue was erected in the same place, where an exact replica of the building destroyed in 1938 was planned. The plaque attached to the cornerstone reportedly was damaged and sprayed with neo-Nazi symbols, but later was cleaned and repaired. The synagogue was reopened in 2018 on the 80th anniversary of its destruction.

Clergy

The following individuals have served as

rabbi A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...

of the congregation:

Notable members

Jews of Königsberg have taken an important part in the struggle for the Jewish emancipation. *

Hannah Arendt Hannah Arendt (born Johanna Arendt; 14 October 1906 – 4 December 1975) was a German and American historian and philosopher. She was one of the most influential political theory, political theorists of the twentieth century. Her work ...

(1906–1975), political theorist * Yaakov Ben-Tor (1910–2002), geologist * Hugo Falkenheim (4 September 1856 – 22 September 1945), last Chairman of the Jewish congregation of Königsberg * Ferdinand Falkson (physician) *

David Friedländer David Friedländer (sometimes spelled Friedlander; 6 December 1750, Königsberg – 25 December 1834, Berlin) was a German banker, writer and communal leader. Life Communal leader and author in Berlin, a pioneer of the practice and ideology of ...

(1750–1834), writer *

Leah Goldberg Leah Goldberg or Lea Goldberg (; May 29, 1911, Königsberg – January 15, 1970, Jerusalem) was a prolific Hebrew-language poet, author, playwright, literary translator, illustrater and painter, and comparative literary researcher. Her wri ...

(1911–1970), author *

Theodor Goldstücker Theodor Goldstücker (also Theodore;Theodore Goldstucker, ''Literary Remains of the Late Professor Theodore Goldstucker'', W. H. Allen, 1879. January 18, 1821March 6, 1872) was a German Sanskrit scholar. Biography He was born of Jewish parents in ...

(1821–1872), scholar * Marcus Herz (pupil of

Kant Immanuel Kant (born Emanuel Kant; 22 April 1724 – 12 February 1804) was a German philosopher and one of the central Enlightenment thinkers. Born in Königsberg, Kant's comprehensive and systematic works in epistemology, metaphysics, et ...

) * Immanuel Jacobovits, (1921–1999), Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth * Johann Jacoby (politician) *

Rudolf Lipschitz Rudolf Otto Sigismund Lipschitz (14 May 1832 – 7 October 1903) was a German mathematician who made contributions to mathematical analysis (where he gave his name to the Lipschitz continuity condition) and differential geometry, as well as numbe ...

(1832–1903), mathematician *

Moshe Meron Moshe Meron (; 22 March 1926 – 6 October 2023) was an Israeli lawyer and politician who served as a member of the Knesset for Likud between 1977 and 1981. Biography Born Max Ludwig Segall to Gustav Segall and Hanna Koenigsberger Segall in Kön ...

(1926–2023), politician *

Leah Rabin Leah Rabin (, née Schloßberg; 28 April 1928 – 12 November 2000) was the wife of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, who was assassinated in 1995. Biography Leah Rabin was born Leah Schloßberg in Königsberg, East Prussia, Germany (now K ...

(1928–2000) * Moshe Smoira (1888–1961), first President of the

Supreme Court of Israel The Supreme Court of Israel (, Hebrew acronym Bagatz; ) is the Supreme court, highest court in Israel. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all other courts, and in some cases original jurisdiction. The Supreme Court consists of 15 jud ...

Michael Wieck Michael Wieck (19 July 1928 – 27 February 2021) was a German violinist and author. Wieck's memoir, ''Zeugnis vom Untergang Königsbergs'' (''Witness to the fall of Königsberg''), was published in 1989. In it he relates his and his partly Jewish ...

(1928-2021), violinist and author In 1942 most of the remaining Jews of Königsberg were murdered in

Maly Trostinez Maly Trostenets (Maly Trascianiec, , "Little Trostenets") is a village near Minsk in Belarus, formerly the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic. During Nazi Germany's occupation of the area during World War II (when the Germans referred to it as ...

(

Minsk Minsk (, ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administra ...

Theresienstadt Theresienstadt Ghetto was established by the SS during World War II in the fortress town of Terezín, in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia ( German-occupied Czechoslovakia). Theresienstadt served as a waystation to the extermination c ...

and

Auschwitz Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It consisted of Auschw ...

Gallery

Destroyed synagogue

Image:Königsberg Synagoge an der Lomse.jpg, A postcard image of the former synagogue with Lindenstraße (today's ulitsa Oktyabrskaia) Image:Синагога Кёнигсберга 1.jpg, The former synagogue, 1900 Image:Synagogen Innenraum.jpg, The interior of the former synagogue, undated

Replacement synagogue

Konigsberg Synagogue Construction Site.jpg, Foundation stone and re-construction site Kaliningrad New Synagogue Aug 2018.jpg, Rebuilding of synagogue, August 2018 Kaliningrad Synagoge 2.jpg, The rebuilt synagogue, 2019

Notes

References

Bibliography

*Borowski, Beitrag zur Neueren Geschichte der Juden in Preussen, Besonders in Beziehung auf lhre Freieren Gottesdienstlichen Uebungen, in: Preussisches Archiv, ii., Königsberg, 1790; idem, Moses Mendelssohns und David Kypkers Aufsätze über Jüdische Gebete und Festfeiern, ib. 1791. *Jolowicz, Geschichte der Juden in Königsberg in Preussen, Posen, 1867. *Saalschütz, Zur Geschichte der Synagogengemeinde in Königsberg, in Monatsschrift, vi.-ix. *Vogelstein, Beiträge zur Geschichte des Unterrichtswesens in der Jüdischen Gemeinde zu Königsberg in Preussen, Königsberg, 1903.

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Konigsberg Synagogue 1722 establishments in the Holy Roman Empire 1938 disestablishments in Germany 19th-century synagogues in Germany Aesopian synagogues Ashkenazi Jewish culture in Germany Ashkenazi Jewish culture in Russia Ashkenazi synagogues Buildings and structures in Kaliningrad Cremer & Wolffenstein

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 ...

Gau East Prussia Jewish organizations established in 1722 Synagogue, Königsberg Orthodox synagogues in Germany Orthodox synagogues in Russia Rebuilt synagogues Romanesque Revival architecture in Germany Romanesque Revival architecture in Russia Romanesque Revival synagogues Synagogue buildings with domes Synagogues completed in 1896 Synagogues destroyed during Kristallnacht (Germany) Former synagogues in Russia

History

Replacement synagogue

Clergy

Notable members

Gallery

Destroyed synagogue

Replacement synagogue

See also

Notes

References

Bibliography

External links