Bergische Synagogue

Bergische Synagoge
	View of the synagogue
Religion	Judaism
Location	Gemarker Straße; Wuppertal-Barmen, Germany
Architect	Goedeking + Schmidt
Type	Synagogue
Groundbreaking	9 November 1998

The Bergische Synagoge is a synagogue in the Barmen district of Wuppertal, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the place of worship of the Jewish community of Wuppertal and was inaugurated on 8 December 2002, 64 years after the destruction of the former Barmen synagogue during the November pogroms of 1938. It is located near the Gemarker Church on Gemarker Straße.^[1]

History

Jewish community after 1945

The former Barmen synagogue, completed in 1897 to designs by Ludwig Levy, was destroyed during the November pogroms of 1938. In 1945, after the Second World War, about 145 Jewish survivors returned to Wuppertal and re-established a community. BEcause there was no Jewish life left in Wuppertal after the war, services took place in the former Jewish retirement home, located in Friedrich-Ebert-Straße.^[1]

By the end of the 1980s, the Jewish community only included 65 members. During the 1990s, membership increased to approximately 2,000 due to the arrival of Jewish immigrants from the former Soviet Union, which created a need for a larger synagogue.^[1]^[2]

Construction

In 1996, former Wuppertal mayor Ursula Kraus initiated the establishment of the Freundeskreis Neue Synagoge e.V., an association supporting the construction of a new synagogue in Barmen. The place intended for a future synagogue that was suitable for a growing Jewish community was near the protestant Gemarker Church.^[1]^[2]

A groundbreaking ceremony was held on 9 November 1998, a date that was also the 60th anniversary of the November pogroms. The foundation stone was laid in October 2001, and the synagogue was inaugurated on 8 December 2002.^[1]

The construction cost approximately €4.5 million. The project received support from the cities of Wuppertal, Solingen, Remscheid and Velbert, as well as from the German state and the Jewish community.^[2]

The synagogue was designed by the Wuppertal architects Goedeking + Schmidt. The building consists of two cubic wings surrounding a round prayer hall. The hall is oriented towards Jerusalem, with the Torah ark and the bimah forming the liturgical centre. Nine tall, narrow windows on the street-facing side represent the nine lights of a Hanukkiah. A glass structure above the prayer hall forms a Star of David in the roof structure.^[3]

The synagogue can accommodate approximately 300 people. Above the entrance is a Hebrew inscription from Isaiah 56:7: ביתי בית תפלה יקרא לכל העמים, translated as "My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples". The inscription also appeared above the entrance to the former Barmen synagogue.^[1]^[3]

The inauguration of the synagogue was attended by German President Johannes Rau, Israeli President Moshe Katsav and Paul Spiegel, chairman of the Central Council of Jews in Germany. It was the first time that an Israeli president had attended the inauguration of a synagogue in Germany.^[4]

Attacks

The synagogue has been the target of two attempted arson attacks.

On 29 July 2014, three men threw several incendiary devices at the synagogue. No one was injured and initial police investigations found no damage to the building. An 18-year-old suspect was arrested, while police searched for two other suspects.^[5]^[6] The three men were later convicted of attempted aggravated arson. During the trial, the defendants said they had intended to draw attention to the Gaza–Israel conflict.^[7]

On 17 September 2026, a second attempted arson attack took place as a man poured flammable liquid on the steps of a side entrance to the synagogue and set it on fire. Only minor damage was sustained because the fire was quickly put down. An Afghan man was later arrested near the synagogue. Knives and a machete were found in his flat and there are indications that he made comments indicating an antisemitic motive.^[8]^[9]