Obj. ID: 49682
Modern Jewish Art Memorial Plaque at the Site of the Synagogue in Glockengasse in Köln (Cologne), Germany, 1966
To the main object: Synagogue in Glockengasse in Köln (Cologne), Germany - Postcard
Memorial Name
Glockengasse Synagogue Memorial Plaque
What is Commemorated?
The synagogue that previously stood here
Description:
A rectangular bronze plaque is affixed to the wall of the opera house. The top two-thirds of the plaque displays a relief map of the block on which the synagogue was located. The lower part of the plaque has an inscription.
Inscriptions
At the top of the plaque
Glockengasse
At the bottom of the plaque
AN DIESER STELLE STAND DIE 1857-61
NACH ENTWÜRFEN VON DOMBAUMEISTER
E. ZWIRNER ERBAUTE SYNAGOGE
EIN GESCHENK VON a. OPPENHEIM
ZERSTÖRT AM 9. NOV.1938
Translation: In this place stood the synagogue built in 1857-61 according to designs by the Cathedral master builder E. Zwirner, a gift from A. Oppenheim, destroyed on 9 Nov 1938.
Commissioned by
The city of Köln
3 image(s)
sub-set tree:
Cologne’s Synagogue in Glockengasse was designed by prominent architect Ernst Friedrich Zwirner. The cornerstone was laid on June 23, 1857, and the synagogue was dedicated on August 29, 1861. During World War I, the cupolas were stripped of their original copper covering. The synagogue was destroyed during the Kristallnacht on November 9, 1938. The Cologne Opera House was erected on the site.
A bronze plaque on the opera house façade on Offenbach Platz commemorates the synagogue. Originally the idea was to put the plaque directly on the spot of the synagogue. But finally it was decided to install the plaque on the wall of the Opera House, located some 50 meters aside from the original site of the synagogue.
Fußbroich, Helmut, Kölns vergessene Zierde. Die Synagoge in der Glockengasse zu Cöln 1861-1939 (Köln: Verlag der Buchhandlung Klaus Bittner, 2021), p. 48., https://miqua-freunde.koeln/.cm4all/uproc.php/0/Beitr%C3%A4ge%20zur%20rheinisch-j%C3%BCdischen%20Geschichte%2C%20Heft%202.pdf?_=172ce24142a&cdp=a (accessed May 28, 2023)