New synagogue Max Street (Bad Kissingen)

In 1705 a first synagogue was built not far from the "Judenhof" of the Erthaler Schutzjuden (property Bachstraße 2). In 1851/52 a new building was erected on the site of this first synagogue, which, however, was soon too small due to the rapidly growing number of Jewish community members. In the 1880s, efforts were made to acquire a suitable plot of land.
   
A new synagogue was built in 1900/02 on Max-Strasse (formerly Promenadenstrasse 1) and consecrated on June 14, 1902. Architect Carl Krampf had proposed a synagogue in neo-Romanesque style in his plans of 1894. According to these plans, a The synagogue was severely damaged by arson during the November pogrom of 1938. At 1 a.m. on the night of November 10, 1938, Bad Kissingen SA-Obersturmbannführer Emil Otto Walter, together with other SA men and pogrom perpetrators from his town, broke into the interior of the synagogue. The arsonists stacked the synagogue's pews on top of each other and rolled up the carpet runners. Then the perpetrators doused the piled-up stack of carpets and pews with kerosene, starting the fire. The synagogue now burned for hours inside until the early morning hours. The heat generated by the fire was so intense that the synagogue's windows burst. The fire department present at the scene did not extinguish the fire, but only made sure that the fire did not spread to neighboring properties; a gas station was located in the immediate vicinity of the synagogue. In the early morning of November 10, 1938, the residents of Bad Kissingen found the magnificent synagogue of their town completely burned out inside. On March 17, 1939, at the instigation of the second mayor of Bad Kissingen, Willy Messerschmidt, the Nazi city council decided to demolish the Kissingen synagogue because of alleged dilapidation. According to fire insurance, a repair of the damage would have been possible.
On December 21, 1949, Walter was sentenced by the Schweinfurt District Court to two and a half years in prison for inciting serious arson. 13 other defendants were acquitted for lack of evidence, including the former NSDAP district leader of Bad Kissingen, Willy Heimbach, and Willy Messerschmidt.   
   
A memorial plaque depicting the former synagogue has been located at the synagogue site since 1967. A new memorial was erected at the synagogue site in 2002 (100 years after the synagogue was dedicated).  
     
Dome had a stately height of 33 meters. The men's room could seat 200 people, for the women there were 120 seats in the gallery.