A journey through Europe's contemporary synagogue architecture

One of the most iconic contemporary synagogues in Europe can be found in the old town of Munich. The temple is the artistic work of architects Rena Wandel-Hoefer and Wolfgang Lorch and was completed in 2006. Its name means “Jacob’s Tent”. The outer walls are reminiscent of the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem, while a metal and glass structure rises above them at the centre of the building. It is accessed via an underground passageway whose walls bear the names of the more than 4,500 Munich Jews murdered by the Nazi regime. The synagogue is part of the Munich Jewish Centre, which includes the contemporary buildings of the Jewish Museum and the Community Centre.

Another well-known example of contemporary Jewish architecture can be found in Ulm. This cubic temple reclaims its space in the Weinhof square where the 19th-century synagogue in a Moorish style once stood. The building was designed by Kister Scheithauer Gross and inaugurated in 2012. It houses both the synagogue and the community centre. The limestone walls are carved with a pattern inspired by the Star of David, allowing light to filter into the bimah where the Torah scrolls are kept.

Moving on the nearby Austria, we find the New Synagogue of Graz. The synagogue was made of brick, concrete and glass, as planned by its architect, Maximilian Katscher. The top is crowned by a large glass dome depicting the Star of David, which rests on twelve pillars (in allusion to the Twelve tribes of Israel). The new building integrated an obelisk erected in 1988 on the site of the former synagogue, which was destroyed during the Night of Broken Glass. This obelisk is located under the Bimah.

The synagogue of Livorno was built in 1962 and is the only synagogue in modernist style in Italy. A 17th-century temple had stood in the same place until it was destroyed during the Second World War. The building is inspired by the Tent of Meeting described in Exodus. In its interior, marble from the previous synagogue was re-used to build the tevah.

The Reconciliation Building houses a synagogue, a library, and meeting place. The building was erected on the site of an old synagogue that was burnt down during the Night of Broken Glass in 1938. This synagogue was one of the largest in Central Europe and was home to an extensive library. The Building of Reconciliation was intended to somehow reclaim this historical link by locating the synagogue and a public library in the same space. The synagogue is housed in a triangular building with stone walls representing one half of the Star of David. It was the first new synagogue to be built in the Czech Republic after World War II. The rest of the complex is made of steel and glass.

The New Mainz Synagogue breaks patterns in religious architecture. The building, which also houses the Jewish Community Centre, perfectly blends in the residential neighbourhood of Mainzer Neustadt, following a perimeter-block pattern. The facade is covered with glazed ceramic tiles which form a three-dimensional pattern full of different shades and hues of green. Its creative mastermind, architect Manuel Herz, was awarded the German Façade Award in 2011. Some remains of the former Mainz synagogue have survived on the square where the entrance to the building is located.

The Jewish Synagogue at the former Carmel College is a concrete building designed by Thomas Hancock. Carmel College operated as a Jewish boarding school, the first one exclusively Jewish in the UK, from 1947 to 1997. The synagogue and the adjoining amphitheatre are located in the heart of the school. The building has an open timber roof that rests on four robust timber pillars. The east and west sides feature stained-glass windows by Israeli sculptor and artist Nehemia Azaz, made with the dalle de verre technique, very trendy in the 1950s and 1960s. Since its closure, the former college has appeared in several movies, series and video clips. In 2011 a scene of The Iron Lady was filmed in the synagogue.