Entrance to the baroque synagogue
Entrance to the baroque synagogue
Externally the synagogue had the shape of a cube. It was practically square and had made an “absolutely monumental impression in massiveness and height”. Compared to the half-timbered buildings around it, the synagogue stood out architecturally. Already its mansard-hipped roof distinguished it from the surrounding gable roofs. The material used for the walls was sandstone, which was normally used just for prestigious buildings in Halberstadt during the Baroque period. The façade was divided into four “tall, narrow segmental arched windows […] which were evenly distributed over the space and emphasized only by a plain keystone.” The practically square interior was about 15 m wide and 17 m long.Its “magnificently furnished in the Baroque style prayer room” was crowned by a six meter wide round dome in the ceiling. An octagonal wooden Bimah was situated exactly in the middle of the room and was partially enclosed by a railing. Opposite the Bimah on the east wall was the Torah Ark, “in the form of a two-story aedicula”.
As seen on
The Jewish Community in Halberstadt
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