Ohel Jakob (from Hebrew: "Jacob's Tent") is a synagogue in Munich, Germany. It was built between 2004 and 2006 as the new main synagogue of the Jewish community of Munich and is located on St.-Jakobs-Platz. The synagogue was solemnly inaugurated on November 9, 2006, on the 68th anniversary of Kristallnacht. The building is part of a new Jewish center, consisting of the synagogue, the Jewish Museum Munich, and a community center.
"Ohel Jakob" was designed by architects Rena Wandel-Hoefer and Wolfgang Lorch, who were awarded the contract after an architectural competition on July 6, 2001. The architects had previously completed the construction of the New Synagogue in Dresden. The award ceremony took place on October 25, 2005. The opening ceremony was led by Charlotte Knobloch, president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany and head of the Orthodox Jewish community of Munich.
The synagogue consists of two cubes, one placed above the other: a powerful stone base meant to evoke the Western Wall in Jerusalem. On top of it is a glass cube featuring intertwined Stars of David, enclosed in a bronze metal curtain. The glass structure represents a tent (ohel), symbolizing the 40 years the Jews spent wandering in the Sinai desert. The synagogue’s portal displays the first ten letters of the Hebrew alphabet, reminding of the Ten Commandments.
The main portal was made in Budapest and decorated with Hebrew letters depicting the Ten Commandments. The interior walls are paneled with warm cedar wood, adorned with golden psalms.
The synagogue has seating for more than 550 people. Visitors can enter the building through an underground “Gang der Erinnerung” (“Corridor of Remembrance”), which connects the synagogue with the community center. The walls of the 32-meter passage are inscribed with the names of 4,500 Munich Jews who were killed under the Nazi regime.
The synagogue accommodates 550 worshippers. Construction cost approximately 57 million euros (about 72 million US dollars), funded by the city of Munich, Bavaria, the Jewish community of Munich, and private donations.
The historic main synagogue of Munich was destroyed in June 1938 and was located a few blocks from the new synagogue, on the site now occupied by a parking lot.
In 2003, German authorities uncovered a plot by a group of neo-Nazis to bomb the cornerstone laying ceremony of the building. Security concerns also led to the decision to place a memorial to more than 4,000 Munich Jews who perished during the Holocaust in the tunnel between the synagogue and the Jewish community center.
Sources:
https://www.dw.com/en/new-munich-synagogue-opens-on-nazi-persecution-anniversary/a-2230576
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohel_Jakob_synagogue_(Munich)
