Synagogue in the old Vienna General Hospital

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Original view from 1903
Original view from 1903
Synagogue in the old AKH
Interior view with modern art installation

The synagogue in the old Vienna General Hospital is located in courtyard 6 of the old Vienna General Hospital . The “prayer pavilion” for the Jewish sick in the old general hospital was built in 1903 with donations from the Israelitische Kultusgemeinde Wien according to the plans of Max Fleischer . The donation total was more than 5000 guilders . In the historic architecture of the Austria-Hungarian Empire Fleischer occurs particularly with the onset of Gothic Revival for synagogues indicate the expression of his belief different from the equivalence of cultic buildings denominations are.

Destruction and rebuilding

In the November pogrom of 1938 , the synagogue was desecrated and badly damaged by the National Socialists . The building survived the Second World War, but was rebuilt in a transformer room in 1953 . The roof structure, the entrance and the Torah shrine porch were destroyed.

After the former synagogue became the property of the University of Vienna and was no longer used as a transformer room, it was decided to convert the building into a place of remembrance, which should document its eventful history in artistic form. The artistic implementation was entrusted to Minna Antova . It was not possible to restore it as a synagogue, as a senate resolution meant that denominations were not allowed to be represented on campus. However, Minna Antova's concept was also supported by the Israelite Religious Community.

From 1999 to 2002, at the instigation of the university as the new owner, there was an intensive discourse and the redesign of the remaining part of the building as a monument to Marpe Lanefesh (“Healing for the Soul”). On the floor under a glass plate there is an enlarged architectural plan of the floor plan, which shows the seats in their original size. In 2005 the ceremonial reopening took place in the presence of the Israelitische Kultusgemeinde.

Since nursing was relocated to the new building in the 1970s , the prayer pavilion is no longer used for religious purposes. The building serves as a memorial , commemorations and seminars are held in it. There is a prayer room for Jewish patients in the current AKH, and the chief rabbinate of the Vienna Jewish Community is responsible for mental care .

The artist Minna Antova was responsible for the overall artistic conception and the interior frescoes. The architects were Maria Langthaller , Gerhard Scheller, and Christian Willibald. The University of Vienna acted as the client, and the execution was carried out by the Federal Real Estate Company . The redesign was supported by the Austrian Federal Ministry for Education, Science and Culture , the Department of Culture of the City of Vienna and the Vienna Old Town Maintenance Fund , the Oesterreichische Nationalbank , Wienstrom GmbH and the Alsergrund district .

See also

literature

  • Michaela Feurstein, Gerhard Milchram: Jewish Vienna. City walks . Böhlau, Vienna et al. 2001, ISBN 3-205-99094-3 .
  • Pierre Genée: Vienna Synagogues 1825–1938 . Löcker, Vienna 1987, ISBN 3-85409-113-3 .
  • Bob Martens , Herbert Peter: The destroyed synagogues of Vienna. Virtual city walks . Mandelbaum Verlag, Vienna 2009, ISBN 978-3-85476-313-0 .

Web links

Commons : Synagogue in the old AKH Vienna  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 48 ° 13 ′ 4 ″  N , 16 ° 21 ′ 12 ″  E