Fodor's Expert Review Görlitz Synagogue

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.