Obj. ID: 25267
Jewish Architecture Synagogue in Leiden, The Netherlands
The synagogue was designed as a rectangular building with a hipped roof and replaced a former synagogue dating back to 1731. The building was constructed in 1762/63 by Huijbert van Roomburg and Jacobus Sanrenburgh. The front façade includes a Neo-Classical entrance and contains a Hebrew inscription referring to Haggai 2:9 and the date 1763. The building was damaged by an explosion in 1807 and was subsequently restored in 1809. The rectangular windows were replaced by rounded arched windows with cast-iron tracery in a drastic renovation by J. van Lith in the year 1857/58. The Torah ark and the women’s gallery can be dated back to 1807/07. The Torah ark was designed a Neo-Classical manner and contains four Tuscan columns and two pilasters supporting the entablature which includes a frieze with triglyphs and a triangular pediment. The women’s gallery is supported by a cornice, resting on top of two Ionic columns.
The synagogue was used for religious services until 1942. During the Second World War, the interior of the synagogue was looted. The Jewish religious services inside the building resumed in 1947. The benches and the bimah were taken from the synagogue in The Hague (De Carpentierstraat; now demolished). The chandeliers were taken from an older synagogue in The Hague (Wagenstraat).
The synagogue was renovated in 1977/78 by the architect P. van der Sterre.
The synagogue was first built in 1723. A new synagogue was built on the same place in 1763.
sub-set tree:
van Agt, J.F., Edward van Voolen. Synagogen in Nederland (Hilversum: Gooi and Sticht, 1988)
van Voolen, Edward, Paul Meijer. Synagogen van Nederland (Zutphen: Walburg Pers, 2006)