The largest synagogue in Germany has been officially reopened after renovation work in Berlin. The ceremony also marks the opening of the Jewish Cultural Festival in Berlin.
The synagogue, first built in 1904 in a courtyard off the Rykestraße in the Prenzlauer Berg district of Berlin, has space to seat 1,200. In future it is to be used for worship and concerts.
The extensive restoration work took a total of three years. Using surviving black and white photos, the architects Ruth Golan and Kay Zareh have restored the building to its original impressive neo-classical elegance.
The first Sabbath service on the evening of the reopening
Thanks to its location in a courtyard, the building managed to escape destruction during the Kristallnacht - the night in 1938 when many Jewish temples, homes and businesses were torched. As of 1940, however, it was used as an arsenal by the German army. Since 1953 it has once again been used by the small Jewish community in East Berlin as a place of worship. The building was, however, desperately in need of renovation.
On the evening of the official opening the fist Sabbath service was once again held in the synagogue.
About one thousand guests attended the official opening, including the Federal Minister of the Interior, Wolfgang Schäuble and the President of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Charlotte Knobloch. Berlin's Senator for Internal Affairs, Ehrhart Körting, and the head of the Jewish Community in Berlin, Gideon Joffe, were also present.
Jewish Cultural Festival in Berlin
Now being held for the 21st time, the festival offers a taste of the many different facets of Jewish culture. Concerts, exhibitions, public readings and discussions are being held in the Rykestraße, in the Centrum Judaicum in the Oranienburger Straße and at other locations. This celebration of Jewish culture will run from 31 August to 9 September.
