Synagogue (Abterode)

The synagogue in Abterode around 1900 (excerpt from a picture postcard)

The synagogue in Abterode , a district of Meißner in the Werra-Meißner district in Hesse , was built in 1870. The secular synagogue is located at Hinterweg 1.

History and description

The two-storey synagogue in the style of historicism is built from red sandstone blocks . A separate entrance led to the women's gallery . The symmetrical structure is divided into three fields on the east and west side by central pilaster strips . The belt cornices are divided into six areas, each area having a door or window opening. The interior was adorned with ornate painting, which showed plant ornaments and stylized curtains.

During the November pogrom of 1938 , the interior of the synagogue was destroyed by mostly foreign SA members.

The building of the synagogue in 2016

In 1944 the synagogue building was bought by the savings and loan association and then used as a storage room. In 1990 the building was converted into a bank branch.

In 2015, wall paintings were discovered in the attic by the new users.

The text on the plaque on the former synagogue reads: Former synagogue of the Jewish community of Abterode. Built in 1871. Since 1944 owned by the Abterode savings and loan association. Branch of Raiffeisenbank Meißnervorland eG., Which fundamentally renovated the building that had been used as a paying office and warehouse in 1992/93. The entry of Abterode in the valley of the destroyed Jewish communities 'Yad Vashem' in Israel commemorates the fate of the Abterode Synagogue and its community .

Geniza

In the 1990s, a geniza with numerous writings, prayer books and ritual objects was found in the attic of the synagogue .

literature

Klaus-Dieter Alicke: Lexicon of the Jewish communities in the German-speaking area. Volume 1: Aach - Groß-Bieberau. Gütersloher Verlagshaus, Gütersloh 2008, ISBN 978-3-579-08077-2 ( online edition ).
Thea Altaras : Synagogues and Jewish ritual immersion baths in Hesse - What happened since 1945? 2nd edition, Königstein im Taunus 2007, ISBN 978-3-7845-7794-4 , pp. 188-189.