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Img. ID: 57571

© Center for Jewish Art, Photographer: Levin, Vladimir, 2001

The Communal (Gemeinde) synagogue in Halberstadt was erected in the years 1709 - 1712, and destroyed in 1938. Only one wall from the 1879 addition has been preserved.

The building was a massive square structure built with the light-yellowish-grey stone that was generally used in this region for public buildings. The exterior was almost completely undecorated. Each of the four exterior walls had two pairs of windows that were visually unified by an arch.  Centered on the west wall was the main entrance. The location of the Torah ark was indicated on the exterior of the eastern wall by a protrusion with a sloped-roof. The building was capped by an imposing mansard roof, a reference to the regional baroque tradition.

Significant additions were made to the structure in 1879 by architects Ebe and Bende from Berlin. An infill structure containing separate entrance halls for men and women were added as well as a new exterior staircase to the women’s gallery. This filled the space between the original 18th century synagogue structure and the row of houses that had screened it from the street.  

According to the plans drawn for the reconstruction of 1879, the northern side of the vault was decorated with a depiction of the showbread table in the Temple of Jerusalem. The southern side had a depiction of the Temple menorah. The interior cupola in the center of the vault was painted with palm trees.

///ID/18117/

///ID/18115/

Name/Title
Communal Synagogue in Halberstadt | Unknown
Object
Object Detail
Remains of the 1879 addition
Settings
Unknown
Date
1709-1712, 1879
Synagogue active dates
Reconstruction dates
Artist/ Maker
Unknown (Unknown)
Historical Origin
Unknown
Community type
Unknown |
Congregation
Unknown
Location
Germany | Sachsen-Anhalt | Halberstadt
| Bakenstraße 56
Site
Unknown
School/Style
Unknown|
Period
Unknown
Period Detail
Collection
Unknown |
Documentation / Research project
Unknown
Material / Technique
Material Stucture
Material Decoration
Material Bonding
Material Inscription
Material Additions
Material Cloth
Material Lining
Tesserae Arrangement
Density
Colors
Construction material
Measurements
Height
Length
Width
Depth
Circumference
Thickness
Diameter
Weight
Axis
Panel Measurements
Subject
Unknown |
Condition
Only a part of a wall of the 1879 addition is preserved
Extant
Documented by CJA
Surveyed by CJA
Present Usage
Present Usage Details
Condition of Building Fabric
Architectural Significance type
Historical significance: Event/Period
Historical significance: Collective Memory/Folklore
Historical significance: Person
Architectural Significance: Style
Architectural Significance: Artistic Decoration
Urban significance
Significance Rating
Textual Content
Unknown |
Languages of inscription
Unknown
Shape / Form
Unknown
0
Ornamentation
Custom
Contents
Codicology
Scribes
Script
Number of Lines
Ruling
Pricking
Quires
Catchwords
Hebrew Numeration
Blank Leaves
Direction/Location
Façade (main)
Situated in the middle of a block
Endivances
Location of Torah Ark
East
Location of Apse
Location of Niche
Location of Reader's Desk
Center of the prayer hall
Location of Platform
Temp: Architecture Axis
Arrangement of Seats
Location of Women's Section
Western gallery (two tiers)
Direction Prayer
East
Direction Toward Jerusalem
Southeast
Coin
Coin Series
Coin Ruler
Coin Year
Denomination
Signature
Colophon
Scribal Notes
Watermark
Hallmark
Group
Group
Group
Group
Group
Trade Mark
Binding
Decoration Program
Summary and Remarks
Remarks
Suggested Reconsdivuction
History/Provenance
Main Surveys & Excavations
Archaeological excavations were undertaken in 2000.
Bibliography

Aliza Cohen-Mushlin and Harmen Thies (eds.), Synagogenarchitektur in Deutschland vom Barock zum 'Neuen Bauen' (Braunschweig, 2000), pp. 48-49

Katrin Keßler, "Architektur und Ritus der Synagoge," in: Judentum: Wege zur geistigen Befreiung. Materialen der Dessauer Herbstseminare 2000 und 2001 zur Geschichte der Juden in Deutschland (Dessau, 2002), pp. 44-58.

Keßler, Katrin, Ritus und Raum der Synagoge (Petersberg, 2007), 102–27, 171–256.

Aliza Cohen-Mushlin and Harmen Thies (eds.), Synagogenarchitektur in Deutschland: Dokumentation zur Ausstellung "… und ich wurde ihnen zu einem kleinen Heiligtum … " - Synagogen in Deutschland (Petersberg, 2008), pp. 123-8.

Short Name
Full Name
Volume
Page
Type
Documenter
|
Author of description
Katrin Kessler, Vladimir Levin, Samuel D. Albert |
Architectural Drawings
|
Computer Reconstruction
|
Section Head
|
Language Editor
Carmen Echevarria | 2016
Donor
|
Negative/Photo. No.
A034250