Synagogue Oberwart

Former synagogue in Oberwart

The Oberwart Synagogue is a former synagogue in the town of Oberwart in Burgenland . The Central Music School of Oberwart has been housed here since 1997 . The listed building, together with the Israelite cemetery and the former rabbinate house, is one of the only visible relics of a once flourishing Jewish community.

history

In 1902 a committee was formed which sought to have its own Jewish prayer house in Oberwart. The foundation stone was laid on June 1, 1904 in what was then Tempelgasse near the Evangelical Church AB , and the synagogue was inaugurated on November 6, 1904. Moving backgrounds were probably on the one hand the steady increase in parish members, which demanded more space for the believers, on the other hand a visible sign of emancipation was probably set towards the mother parish Stadtschlaining . With around 120 seats, the synagogue was a single-storey building. The synagogue was simply furnished inside. The canopy for the Torah was dedicated by Josef Weigl.

The synagogue had to be evacuated after Austria was annexed to the German Empire. At that time there were 14 Torah scrolls that were probably brought to Vienna . After that, the building was used for various purposes, such as a fire brigade prop house. In 1940 the synagogue was aryanized by the municipality of Oberwart / Felsőőr .

In 1946 the mayor of the municipality confirmed the expropriation of the synagogue. In 1953 the former prayer house and the adjoining house of the IKG were sold to the community. On the initiative of the IKG Graz , a memorial plaque with the following inscription was placed on the outer wall of the synagogue in 1989:

“In memory of the ordeal of our former Jewish fellow citizens. Her prayer house stood here. It was destroyed by the National Socialists in 1938. "

- Memorial plaque on the outer wall of the former synagogue

Use as a central music school

Due to the increasing number of students at the Oberwart Music School , the municipal council, under the leadership of Mayor Michael Racz, decided in 1996 to relocate the Central Music School from its former location in Evangelische Kirchengasse to the converted synagogue that was expanded by an extension. This year 318 students were already enrolled in the music school and 18 teachers were employed. The grand opening of the new Central Music School, where numerous guests of honor, such as Governor Karl Stix , were present, was celebrated on October 3, 1997, exactly 50 years after the music school was founded.

literature

• Ursula Mindler: The Jewish community of Oberwart / Felsöör. edition lex liszt 12, Oberwart 2013, ISBN 978-3-99016-057-2 .
• Simon Hosemann: Virtual reconstruction of the Oberwart / Felsöör synagogue, diploma thesis at the Technical University of Vienna 2015, available digitally: https://publik.tuwien.ac.at/files/PubDat_239223.pdf

Web links

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

• History and contemporary history of the Jewish community in Oberwart In: VHS-Burgenland
• Jewish community Oberwart In: Regiowiki.at
• List of Holocaust victims related to Oberwart In: Regiowiki.at
• History of the Jews in Burgenland In: Regiowiki.at

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Ursula Mindler: The Jewish community of Oberwart / Felsőőr . edition lex liszt 12, Oberwart 2013, ISBN 978-3-99016-057-2 , pp. 56, 57.
2. ↑ Ursula Mindler: The Jewish community of Oberwart / Felsőőr . edition lex liszt 12, Oberwart 2013, ISBN 978-3-99016-057-2 , p. 59.
3. ↑ Ursula Mindler: The Jewish community of Oberwart / Felsőőr. edition lex liszt 12, Oberwart 2013, ISBN 978-3-99016-057-2 , p. 59 f.
4. ^ History of the Central Music School in Oberwart , accessed on May 4, 2016.

Coordinates: 47 ° 17 ′ 15.1 ″  N , 16 ° 12 ′ 36.2 ″  E