Explore Religious Heritage Across Europe

The very first Jewish community in Rotterdam was founded by Portuguese Jews from Antwerp. In 1610, the Vroedschap allowed the "Portuguese Jews" to settle in Rotterdam "to promote traffic and negotiations within this city" and to establish a synagogue there. In the first half of the 17th century, we already find a synagogue of the Portuguese Jewish community. Among them was the highly respected De Pinto family, of which Abraham Gillez Lopez de Pinto in particular left nothing to make the Jewish community a worthy community. He was a wealthy man who lived in the double upper house on the south side of Wijnhaven No. 62, corner of Bierstraat. After renovation, this became a meeting place and school for Jews who felt the need to increase their knowledge of the Talmud and the Bible. The Jews from the east - called "High German Jews" - came later. Their first synagogue was the one at Glashaven (1674). For a while, the Portuguese and High German Jews each had their own synagogue, but when the number of Portuguese Jews decreased significantly, both communities decided in 1682 to unite and use the synagogue at Glashaven WZ. This synagogue soon became too small and an adjacent building was purchased to enlarge the existing church. When in 1723 Parnassijns requested permission to enlarge the synagogue, the mayors believed that "those of the Jewish nation would do better to look elsewhere at the public church (meaning the Zuiderkerk) in a more elegant way".

Initially, religious services were held in a private house on the Vismarkt, but in 1723 a building on the Levendaal was occupied, which was furnished as a synagogue. In the same year, the statutes of the Jewish community were approved by the city council. The facade of the synagogue on the Levendaal was adapted to the use of the building with the permission of the government almost ten years later. Despite the restrictive provisions and the economic malaise in which Leiden found itself in the second half of the eighteenth century, the number of Jews in the city increased, certainly after the Jews officially obtained equal civil rights in 1796. The explosion of a gunpowder ship in 1807 not only destroyed the archives of the Jewish community, the synagogue was also badly damaged and the Jewish school was completely destroyed. After some provisional restorations, it proved necessary to completely renovate the synagogue building halfway through the nineteenth century. In 1858, the building on the Levendaal was reconsecrated and at the same time a new school building was put into use. Most of Leiden's Jews lived near the synagogue.

In 1845, a synagogue was built in the Schoolstraat. The Jewish community also had its own school. There was a board for the poor and a society that took care of the sick and the poor, while a women's society took care of the maintenance of the synagogue and the ritual objects. During the occupation, approximately 80 Jews went into hiding in the vicinity of Breda, who were supported by the resistance. Serious damage was done to the synagogue by the NSB, and part of the interior was stolen. After the war, the Jewish community of Breda initially met in a room converted into a synagogue from 1952 onwards. In 1971, a building was purchased on the Dr. van Mierlostraat and consecrated as a synagogue. The old synagogue on the Schoolstraat served as a workshop for many years, but was put back into use in September 1992 after a renovation and restoration. The synagogue also houses a modest library. Since December 2002, the building has been owned by the NIG (Dutch Israelite Community) Breda, who bought it from the Breda Synagogue Exploitation Foundation. Services are held regularly. In nearby Terheijden , the synagogue of the liberal Jewish community of Brabant was inaugurated in 1983. (Source: JHM)

This Synagogue was founded in 1707 in the house of Jacob Pereira. Around 1725, the famous architect Daniel Marot designed the Synagogue that still exists today and is still used by the Liberal Jewish Community of The Hague. It should be noted that the clients wanted a synagogue that would resemble the Portuguese Jewish Synagogue of Amsterdam. This had been built 50 years earlier. The foundation stone of the complex in The Hague was laid on 16 April 1725. It is an impressive building. At the top is the year 5486 (1726). Below that is written in Hebrew "How lovely are your Dwellings". The complex has 12 windows, one for each tribe of Israel. The intention was that the Synagogue would also have a tower (with a clock), just like the Synagogue in Rotterdam that was built around the same time. In 1725, the administrators of The Hague agreed to its construction by a vote of 15 to 1, but several preachers from The Hague subsequently campaigned against the tower and it was never built.

Neo-Gothic synagogue. From 1950 to 1983 Reformed Church (Liberated), then Dutch Reformed Church. The building of the Dutch Reformed Church was built as a synagogue and dates from 1868. The Jewish community in Culemborg grew to around 200 members at the end of the 19th century. This made the construction of a house of prayer necessary. The synagogue was built in neo-Gothic style. Characteristic are the 3 pinnacles on the front facade and the pointed arch windows. The old synagogue, housed in an abbey right next to the new synagogue, was converted into a mikveh (bathhouse) and religious school. All these Jewish institutions ensured that the street on which they were located soon became known as Jodenkerkstraat, a name it still has today.

In 1909, the Central Israelite Lunatic Asylum Het Apeldoornse Bosch was opened. This institution had its own synagogue. In the course of 1942, many Jewish residents of Apeldoorn were deported. In early January 1943, the remaining ones were arrested and transferred to Het Apeldoornsche Bosch. On 23 January 1943, all those who were staying in the institution at that time were deported, together with the children and their carers. Almost without exception, they were killed in Auschwitz and Sobibor.

Former Christian Reformed Church Eben Haëzer, Synagogue since 2003.

Neoclassical synagogue building in courtyard. The building was designed in 1842 as a High German synagogue by architect Roodenburg on behalf of the board of the Ashkenazi Jewish community in The Hague. It was partly financed by King William II. The synagogue was put into use in 1844. The synagogue was located in the middle of the then Jewish quarter of The Hague. After the deportation of the Jews of The Hague in 1942 and 1943, the synagogue stood empty. After the Second World War, the synagogue was restored to its former glory together with two other synagogues. However, the Jewish community had declined sharply in number after the war, from 17,000 to 2,000.

The Synagogue and community centre in Dresden are part of a modernist complex from 2001. The architects of the synagogue are Rena Wandel-Hoefer and Wolfgang Lorch. The main material of the building is concrete.

The Targowa Synagogue in Warsaw dates from the 20th century. This brick synagogue is now abandoned.