| Stadttempel | |
|---|---|
 Main building of the Jewish community, housing the temple in the Seitenstettengasse 4 | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Orthodox Judaism |
| Rite | Nusach Ashkenaz |
| Ecclesiastical or organisational status | Synagogue |
| Leadership |
|
| Status | Active |
| Location | |
| Location | Seitenstettengasse 4,Innere Stadt 1st district,Vienna |
| Country | Austria |
  Location of the synagogue in Austria | |
| Coordinates | 48°12′42″N16°22′29″E / 48.21167°N 16.37472°E /48.21167; 16.37472 |
| Architecture | |
| Architects |
|
| Type | Synagogue architecture |
| Style | |
| General contractor | Jacob Heinz (supervisor) |
| Completed | 1826 |
| Website | |
| www | |
Historic site | |
Error: Invalid designation | |
| Official name | Stadttempel |
| Type | Cultural monument |
TheStadttempel (English:City Prayer House), also called theSeitenstettengasse Temple, is anOrthodoxJewishsynagogue, located at Seitenstettengasse 4, in theInnere Stadt 1st district ofVienna, Austria. Completed in 1826, it is the main synagogue in Vienna. The congregation worships in theAshkenazirite.
The synagogue was constructed from 1824 to 1826. The luxurious Stadttempel was fitted into a block of houses and hidden from plain view of the street, because of an edict issued by EmperorJoseph II that only Roman Catholic places of worship were allowed to be built with facades fronting directly on to public streets.
This edict saved the synagogue from total destruction during theKristallnacht in November 1938, since the synagogue could not be destroyed without setting on fire the buildings to which it was attached. The Stadttempel was the only synagogue in the city to surviveWorld War II, asNazi paramilitary troops with the help of local authorities destroyed all of the other 93 synagogues andJewish prayer-houses in Vienna, starting with theKristallnacht.[1][2]
In August 1950, the coffins ofTheodor Herzl and his parents were displayed at the synagogue, prior to their transfer for reburial in Israel.[3][4]
In the1981 Vienna synagogue attack, two people from a bar mitzvah ceremony at the synagogue were murdered and thirty injured whenPalestinian Arab terrorists attacked the synagogue with machine guns and hand grenades.[5] On 2 November 2020, aterrorist attack near the synagogue left four civilians dead and 23 others wounded. It was not immediately certain if the synagogue was the target of the attack.[6][7][8]
Today the synagogue is the main house of prayer for the Viennese Jewish Community of about 7,000 members.[3]
The synagogue has been declared a historic monument.[3][9]
The synagogue was designed in elegantBiedermeier style by the Viennese architectJoseph Kornhäusel, architect toJohann I Joseph, Prince of Liechtenstein, for whom he had built palaces, theaters and other buildings. Construction was supervised by the official municipal architect, Jacob Heinz.[9]
Two five-story apartment houses, Numbers 2 and 4 Seitenstettengasse, were built at the same time as the synagogue, designed by the architect to screen the synagogue from the street in compliance with thePatent of Toleration, which permitted members of tolerated faiths to worship inclandestine churches, but not in buildings with facades on public streets.[10] The synagogue is structurally attached to the apartment building at #4 Seitenstettengasse.[9]
The synagogue itself is in the form of an oval. A ring of twelveIonic columns support a two-tieredwomen's gallery. Originally, the galleries ended one column away from theTorah Ark, they were later extended to the columns beside the ark to provide more seating. the building is domed and lit by a lantern in the center of the dome, in classic Biedermeyer style.[9]
A commemorative glass made at the time of the synagogue's dedication and etched with a detailed image of the synagogue's interior is now in the collection of theJewish Museum (New York).[11]
The synagogue underwent renovation in 1895 and again in 1904 by the Jewish architect Wilhelm Stiassny, adding considerable ornamentation, and, in the opinion of architectural historianRachel Wischnitzer, "the serene harmony of the design was spoiled by renovations."[3][9] Damage inflicted on Kristallnacht was repaired in 1949. The "Stadttempel" was renovated once again in 1963 by Prof. Otto Niedermoser.[3]
| Current | |
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| Destroyed | |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Geographic | |
| Other | |
