Synagogue

Since the 1840s, the small Jewish community in Krefeld Uerdingen had its own synagogue. It was located on Bruchstra&szlig. On October 15, 1841 - in the presence of city representatives and representatives of the other denominations - the solemn inauguration took place.

Due to the structural conditions of the Uerdingen synagogue, arson was not possible during the November pogroms, so the interior, including all religious objects, was emptied and set on fire on the market square in Uerdingen. Later, the roof had to be covered and the building walls torn down.

In 1852, the Jewish community (at that time 500 members) sold its synagogue property on Juden-Kirch-Strasse. As early as 1851, the community began to build a new synagogue on the corner of Petersstra&szlig and Marktstra&szlig. The new synagogue was a large and representative building in the classicist style with a 40 m high dome, which stood out in the Krefeld cityscape on a par with the Christian churches. Non-Jewish Krefeld citizens donated a total of 2,500 thalers for the construction of the synagogue and thus made a large contribution to the building of the synagogue.

The synagogue in Roonstra;e looks back on an eventful history: completed in 1899, it shaped both the cityscape of Cologne and the developments within the city. In accordance with the reforms of the 19th century, the bima, the raised lectern for the weekly reading of the Torah, was no longer located in the center of the room, but moved to the east side near the Torah shrine. Another characteristic of the reform-oriented orientation of the congregation members was the desire to install an organ; this led to a break with the Orthodox members.

After their expulsion from Cologne in 1424, Jews were not allowed to settle in the cathedral city again until 1798. After their readmission, they founded a congregation and used premises of the former Clarissan convent in Glockengasse. A steadily growing number of members led to the planning of a new place of worship, which Abraham von Oppenheim financed. The design of the new building, inaugurated in 1861, came from the Cologne cathedral architect Ernst Friedrich Zwirner.