3 Best Sights in Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia, Germany

Evidence of a wealthy Jewish community can be found in the large art nouveau Synagogue. With 650 seats the building, completed in 1911, would have been the largest synagogue in Saxony.

During the Kristallnacht Nazis set the building on fire, but the building only suffered minor damage as the Fire Department ignored orders to let the building burn. The last service took place here in 1940. Almost none of Görlitz’s Jews survived the war and Soviet Military authorities placed the synagogue under the control of the community in Dresden. The city of Görlitz purchased the building in 1963 and it served a variety of functions until German unification.

In 2008 the city and an associated foundation began the reconstruction of the building. Although there is no large community in Görlitz, the newly refurbished synagogue is again open to the public and held its first service in August 2021. The main building is an interesting public space that explores the history and cultural impact of Jews in Silesia. In December 2021, the remains of the Torah, thought destroyed by the Nazis, was returned to the synagogue after being hidden by a sympathetic priest.

The young Martin Luther studied the liberal arts as well as law and theology at Erfurt University from 1501 to 1505. After a personal revelation, Luther asked to become a monk in the St. Augustin Kloster on July 17, 1505. He became an ordained priest here in 1507, and remained at the Kloster until 1511. Today the Kloster is a seminary and retreat hotel.

English-speaking visitors can worship in the churches where Martin Luther conducted his ministry thanks to this ministry. During the summer months it brings English-speaking pastors from the United States to provide Lutheran worship services in the Schlosskirche and Stadtkirche St. Marien. Services follow German Protestant tradition (albeit in English) and conclude with singing Luther's "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God," accompanied on the organ. Tours of Wittenberg and other Luther sites are also offered.