Lindenstrasse synagogue

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Street view of the meetinghouse
Main facade of the prayer room

The Lindenstrasse synagogue was a synagogue of the Jewish community in the Berlin district of Kreuzberg . It was built in 1890/91 based on designs by the Cremer & Wolffenstein architecture firm and inaugurated on September 27, 1891. During the Reichspogromnacht numerous damage was done to the interior, the building as such remained intact. In February 1945 the building was destroyed in an air raid. In 1956 the remains were removed.

Planning and construction

From April 1888, the Jewish community was registered in the land register owner of the property Lindenstrasse 48-50 (today Axel-Springer-Strasse 48-50) in Berlin-Kreuzberg, not far from Dönhoffplatz and directly on the border with Berlin-Mitte . The plans for the construction of a community synagogue on this property go back at least to the year 1887, as in the spring of this year the architect Johann Höniger submitted plans for the construction of a synagogue to the building police for examination.

Höniger designed a synagogue in the Romanesque style , which was to be located at the rear of the narrow and elongated property. It would have offered space for around 1,600 visitors. On the street front, Höniger planned a community hall in Berlin's eaves height with a large passage to the synagogue. The parish council, however, did not agree with the draft, mainly because of the poor visibility that would have resulted in the interior of the synagogue, and withdrew it, even though the building authority approval had been issued in the meantime.

To get a better draft, was in July 1888 within the members of Architects Association in Berlin a competitive tender. A building according to the liberal rite , i.e. with an organ and a singer, was given . The capacity should be at least 1800 visitors. It was desirable to adopt Höniger's concept with a community building on the street front, in which the religious school and staff apartments were to be housed. As a result, twelve drafts were submitted in October 1888, including a. by Franz Schwechten , Bruno Schmitz , Vincent Dylewski , Emil Hoffmann , and the architecture firm Cremer & Wolffenstein. Cremer & Wolffenstein received the first prize, the second prize went to Bruno Schmitz.

The design by Cremer & Wolffenstein intended for execution envisaged a domed central building as the synagogue, which approximated the Protestant church building of the time. The towerless facade took on Romanesque forms despite the Gothic construction systems . The prayer house was arranged on the rear part of the building site. On the street front, Cremer & Wolffenstein originally planned a wide portal with flanking three-story residential and administrative buildings. However, in order to gain more space for a religious school, the portal was dispensed with and a building was erected that completely closed off the street front. The prayer house was hardly noticeable from the street and could only be reached through a spacious passage in the front building.

use

From 1928 to 1938 Manfred Lewandowski was the synagogue's chief cantor .

destruction

The destruction wrought in the Reichspogromnacht was limited to the interior. The building itself remained intact. As a result, the synagogue was confiscated and used for grain storage from 1939. The building was finally destroyed on February 3, 1945 in an air raid.

post war period

In June 1956, the State of Berlin purchased the property and had the ruins removed. In the following years the property remained unused, from 1961 it was directly next to the Berlin Wall . There was no evidence of the history of the place.

With the reunification, the property was again in a lucrative location in the immediate city center. The Barmer Ersatzkasse , which has owned the neighboring property (house numbers 44-47) since 1932, acquired the property in the early 1990s and had a new administrative building built from 1994 to 1996. This was named Place of Remembrance . The concept of the new building envisaged a memorial site in the inner courtyard from the start. This was designed under the name Blatt by Micha Ullman , Zvi Hecker and Eyal Weizman . Three memorial plaques were placed in the passage to the inner courtyard. Two of them are reminiscent of the building of the synagogue, one explains the design of the memorial.

See also

supporting documents

  1. ^ Synagogues in Berlin . Part 1, Willmuth Arenhövel, Berlin 1983, p. 104.
  2. ↑ a b Synagogues in Berlin . Part 2, Willmuth Arenhövel, Berlin 1983, p. 95.
  3. ^ Bruno Schmitz: Synagogue, Berlin. Monthly competition October 1888 in the architecture museum of the TU Berlin in the university library
  4. ^ Vincent Dylewski: Synagogue, Berlin. Monthly competition October 1888 in the architecture museum of the TU Berlin in the university library
  5. ^ Emil Hoffmann: Synagogue, Berlin. Monthly competition October 1888 in the architecture museum of the TU Berlin in the university library
  6. ^ Cremer & Wolffenstein: Synagogue, Berlin. Monthly competition October 1888 in the architecture museum of the TU Berlin in the university library
  7. ^ Synagogues in Berlin. Part 1, Willmuth Arenhövel, Berlin 1983, p. 114
  8. ↑ Place of Remembrance office building on the website of the Senate Department for Urban Development

literature

  • Synagogue on Lindenstrasse in Berlin, built by Cremer & Wolffenstein. Wasmuth, Berlin 1893.
  • Hd .: The new synagogue on Lindenstrasse in Berlin . In: Centralblatt der Bauverwaltung. Volume 11, No. 42 (October 17, 1891), pp. 413–415.
  • Liberal synagogue at Lindenstrasse 48–50, Kreuzberg. In: Synagogues in Berlin. On the history of a destroyed architecture. Verlag Willmuth Arenhövel, Berlin 1983, part 1, pp. 104-119.
  • Daniela Gauding: The Lindenstrasse synagogue. Hentrich & Hentrich, Berlin 2013, ISBN 978-3-942271-92-9 .

Web links

Commons : Synagoge Lindenstrasse  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 52 ° 30 ′ 30.7 ″  N , 13 ° 24 ′ 1.5 ″  E