A plot of land for the construction of a new synagogue, located in the very center of the city, just two hundred meters from the City Hall and the market square, was acquired in 1903-05. In 1907, the community announced an architectural competition for the design of the synagogue, which attracted 72 proposals. Three “first prizes” were awarded — to the architecture firm Boswau & Knauer (Berlin), Edmund Körner (Berlin), and Johannes Otto (Berlin-Wilmersdorf). At the same time, none of the submitted designs satisfied the customer completely, so it was decided to buy five additional designs and hire one of the prize winners, Edmund Körner (1874-1940), for the construction of the synagogue on the condition that he would adapt his design to the community's requirements.

Körner’s domed complex with massive rusticated façades, built in 1911-1913, indeed exceeded all expectations. An art historian, Prof. Richard Klaphec,k defined the building as “the most stunning synagogue building in today’s Germany.” The synagogue also impressed other communities, and some elements of its architectural design and decorative program likely served as a prototype for the Temple Emanuel in San Francisco (1926) and the Temple Isaiah in Chicago (1924). The Essen interior decoration also inspired the architect of Temple Sinai Congregation in New Orleans, LA, USA (1928).

It was the first synagogue built by Körner, and he clearly needed sources for inspiration. The rabbi of Essen, Dr. Solomon Samuel, became his guide to Judaism. Solomon’s daughter Eva recalled that Körner’s office was set up in the rabbi’s apartment. All the decoration, the colorful windows, the golden mosaics, the hammered doors, the chandeliers, the Torah ark curtain, all of these were discussed with my father. He showed and explained [the meaning of] the symbols to the non-Jewish artist, and for this reason, he himself had to learn about the old Jewish art. Dr. Solomon Samuel was interested not only in the “old” but also in contemporary art. In the decoration program, one finds quotations and allusions to the widely appreciated in the Jewish circles art nouveau graphic artist Ephraim Moses Lilien (1874–1925). Some of the medallions developed by Körner for the decoration of the synagogue and its objects were inspired by Lilien’s illustrations to “Songs of the Ghetto” (1902) and the Bible (1908-1912).

To create convincing "Jewish" interior decoration, Edmund Körner familiarized himself not only with contemporary Jewish art but also with academic literature of the time. Some elements of the interior were based on the reconstructions of Solomon’s Temple printed in “History of Jewish people” by Bernhard Stade (first published in 1887–1888). Others were adopted from the antique Jewish ritual objects excavated in the 19th century in the catacombs of Rome and known to the Jewish public through publication, e.g. in the journal printed by the Society for the Study of Jewish Monuments (Gesellschaft zur Erforschung jüdischer Kunstdenkmäler). The same journal dwelled upon ritual objects from different communities, and some clearly caught Körner’s eye. He also exploited some motives from Jewish coins, Jewish monuments in the German museums, etc.

The interior decoration of the synagogue was the program of Reform Judaism visualized. Reform Judaism strived to educate its followers rather in the spirit of rational thought comprehensible for “modern” European Jews. Under the guidance of Rabbi Dr. Samuel Solomon, Körner distinctly preferred archeological findings, historical reconstructions, and ancient Jewish artifacts from museum collections over the “traditional” iconography. 

However, the architect not only focused on creating an impressive building with “truly” Jewish decoration, but he also invested his thought into building a complex that could satisfy all of the community's needs. The complex included a 34-meter-high synagogue for 1,400 parishioners, a 400 sq. m. front courtyard, a community house with mikveh, a rabbi’s apartment, office, and school premises, a community library, as well as a prayer hall for everyday use. The community gathered in the synagogue mostly on High Holidays; on other days of the year, it did not need this magnificent prayer hall.