Last vestiges of Hamburg's historic Reform Jewish Temple under threat
dpa
HAMBURG (dpa)- Hamburg's Jewish Temple, a synagogue of historic significance for its role in Reform Judaism, is in danger of disappearing entirely, the head of the city's Reform community said on Thursday.
"With the temple on Poolstrasse, Hamburg is home to an item of Jewish heritage of global significance," Galina Jarkova, the head of the community, said in the northern German city.
"We cannot and should not allow it to disappear," she said.
Only the entrance and the apse remain of the temple, which was built in 1844 as a neo-Gothic three-aisled temple for the Reform community. It has enjoyed protected status since 2003.
The ruins at number 11 Poolstrasse now contain a workshop, and the owners are planning a new development on the site in central Hamburg.
"We cannot allow another site of Jewish heritage to disappear," Jarkova said, insisting that Hamburg needed more visible sites of Jewish history and life. She called for it to be turned into a place of recollection and meeting for all.
Hamburg's Liberal Jewish Community is part of the "New Israelite Temple Society of 1817" founded in the city at the time. Reform Judaism, or Liberal Judaism, has its roots in early 19th century Germany.
Felix Mendelssohn composed the music for its inauguration in 1818, and the poet Heinrich Heine described it in his poem "Germany. A Winter's Tale."
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