Hasenberg 1, 01067 Dresden, Germany
The New Synagogue in Dresden was built in 2001 according to the design by architects Rena Wandel-Hoefer and Wolfgang Lorch. It was constructed on the same site as the Semper Synagogue (1839-1840) designed by Gottfried Semper, which was destroyed in 1938 during Kristallnacht.
Members of the SA and SS set fire to the synagogue on the night of November 9, 1938, almost one hundred years after the synagogue’s opening. A few days after the burning, the ruins were "professionally" cleared away, and the bill for covering these expenses was passed on to the Jewish community. A film made by the "Technischen Hilfswerk" documented the efficient dismantling of the building. All that remained of the synagogue was the Star of David, designed by Semper, which firefighter Alfred Neugebaur removed from the burning roof, hid, and returned to the congregation in 1949.
The architecture is based on the form of the earliest Israeli temples. The gradual twisting of the building serves as a turn in the direction of prayer toward the east.
The golden Star of David, preserved from the Semper Synagogue, was placed at the main entrance of the new building. The architects also used ancient Hebrew inscriptions, which they placed on the gates at the entrance to the synagogue grounds.
The boundary wall of the New Synagogue incorporates the last remaining fragments of Semper’s original building. The building was shortlisted by the jury for the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture in 2003. It is located on a small elevation at the edge of Dresden’s Baroque-style center, which was completely destroyed by Allied bombings during the war. The center is being rebuilt with buildings whose exteriors (and in the case of more significant buildings, also interiors, but not construction materials) are exact copies of the royal Baroque city that long glorified Dresden. The synagogue stands next to this meticulous reproduction of the past but is not a copy of Semper’s historic synagogue. It is a modernist statement that contrasts with its neighbors.
A distinctive feature of the synagogue is the complete absence of windows. The building’s facade is absolutely clean, without any ornamentation.
Sources:
https://tury.ru/sight/id/30691-novaya-sinagoga-30691
