Malmö Synagogue ( sv, Malmö synagoga, ) is the only synagogue in Malmö,

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

. It was built in 1903 and designed by the architect John Smedberg. It has an

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...

and Moorish Revival design, which is one of the few synagogues in Europe when most of them were destroyed during Kristallnacht 1938. The services of worship are Orthodox. At the inauguration of Malmö Synagogue, it was Malmö's first non-Christian place of worship. Malmö has two Jewish cemeteries: one section in the northern part of Sankt Pauli kyrkogård and another, newer section in Östra kyrkogården. The synagogue attracts about 5,000 yearly visitors.

History

It started in 1871 as the fifth Jewish community established in Sweden after

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

Norrköping Norrköping (; ) is a city in the province of Östergötland in eastern Sweden and the seat of Norrköping Municipality, Östergötland County, about 160 km southwest of the national capital Stockholm, 40 km east of county seat Linköp ...

and

Karlskrona Karlskrona (, , ) is a locality and the seat of Karlskrona Municipality, Blekinge County, Sweden with a population of 66,675 in 2018. It is also the capital of Blekinge County. Karlskrona is known as Sweden's only baroque city and is host to Swed ...

. The community consisted mostly of immigrants from Germany and Poland and had an initial membership base of 251 people. Later on, more Jews fled from Poland, Russia, Ukraine and the

Baltic states The Baltic states, et, Balti riigid or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term, which currently is used to group three countries: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone, ...

due to poverty, antisemitism and the threat of being drafted into the

Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army (russian: Ру́сская импера́торская а́рмия, tr. ) was the armed land force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the early 1850s, the Russian Ar ...

for 25 years. The first rabbi Joseph Wohlstein was hired in 1900 and the synagogue was built in 1903. During the Second World War Danish Jews fled to Malmö which expanded the community. During the 1970s, the membership peaked with over 2,000 members which was close to 1% of Malmö's population, mostly Jews from Poland due to a state-led anti-Semitic persecution. Ever since 1990, many members began to feel growing anti-Semitic attitudes and sentiments in Malmö and the community has declined to a membership of about 500. In the year 2011, the Egalitarian community was established in parallel with the Orthodox community.

Events

A Holocaust conference was held in Malmö in October 2021. It was an International Forum for the remembrance of the Holocaust and against antisemitism in Malmö. 44 countries participated, including Sweden's prime minister Stefan Löfven and the King of Sweden

Carl Gustaf XVI Carl XVI Gustaf (Carl Gustaf Folke Hubertus; born 30 April 1946) is King of Sweden. He ascended the throne on the death of his grandfather, Gustaf VI Adolf, on 15 September 1973. He is the youngest child and only son of Prince Gustaf Adolf, Du ...

. In collaboration with Malmö Municipality, the synagogue opened up as a knowledge center in January of 2022.

Attacks

The synagogue was attacked with explosives on July 23, 2010."Malmo Synagogue Rocked by Explosion
, Dan Verbin, July 27, 2010, Shalom Life. The explosion was caused with some kind of fireworks or firecracker containing too little gunpowder to seriously damage the building. The synagogue was attacked with an explosive device on September 28, 2012, shattering a window.

References

External links

Malmö Synagogue
{{DEFAULTSORT:Malmo Synagogue 21st-century attacks on synagogues and Jewish communal organizations Art Nouveau synagogues Ashkenazi Jewish culture in Sweden Ashkenazi synagogues Buildings and structures in Malmö Modern Orthodox Judaism in Europe Modern Orthodox synagogues Moorish Revival synagogues Orthodox Judaism in Europe Synagogues in Sweden Art Nouveau architecture in Sweden Synagogues completed in 1903