Cultural Forum Görlitz Synagogue

Spirituality has many facets in the triangle of Upper Lusatia, Lower Silesia and Bohemia. The Via Sacra not only leads through a region with countless Christian sites of great cultural and historical significance. Jewish culture and religion were also present and influential in this region for centuries. Many reminders of Jewish life were destroyed during the National Socialist era; the Jews of Upper Lusatia were expelled or murdered, as was the case everywhere in the Third Reich's sphere of influence.

Miraculously, a special treasure was preserved in Görlitz. The magnificent New Synagogue from 1911 survived the pogrom night of 9 November 1938 with relatively little damage. Although this spectacular domed building in the centre of Görlitz was also set on fire, the fire was extinguished. As a result, the building - the only one of the large community synagogues in present-day Saxony - was preserved, while Jewish life in Görlitz was destroyed.

The Jewish community of Görlitz set a special mark of respect with its synagogue: ‘We have found a home in Görlitz and are proud and committed members of the city's society.’ The entire town celebrated and shared in the pride when the synagogue was officially opened on 7 March 1911.

The synagogue was designed by the renowned Dresden office of William Lossow and Hans Max Kühne, who at the same time planned Leipzig's main railway station and a little later the theatre in Dresden.

After the Second World War and the Shoah, no new Jewish community was established in Görlitz. The architectural jewel remained unused or was misused as a junk room; the building increasingly fell into disrepair. Immediately after the reunification of Germany, the city of Görlitz began to press ahead with the renovation of the synagogue in 1991. The project remained unfinished for a long time due to a lack of funds.

In 2012, the synagogue was elevated to the status of a cultural monument of national importance. This meant that money from the federal budget was channelled into the renovation and restoration. In July 2021, the building was reopened as the ‘Görlitz Synagogue Cultural Forum’ - as opulent and beautiful as when it opened 110 years earlier.

This point is also a stop on our audio guide.