Former hospital synagogue

The small synagogue of the General Hospital was built for patients of the Jewish faith in 1903. Under National Socialism the interior was desecrated in 1938 but not destroyed and set on fire like other synagogues were.

The architect Max Fleischer (1841 – 1905) had studied architecture at Vienna Technical University and the Academy of Fine Arts. He worked in the office of architect Friedrich von Schmidt and was involved in the construction of Vienna City Hall. A bust of Fleischer can be found on the right of the main entrance to the City Hall or ‘Volkshalle’.

He became an important historicist architect, famous for numerous synagogue buildings throughout the Monarchy. In Vienna this included the three neo-Gothic synagogues at 3 Schmalzhofgasse (6th district), 12 Neudeggergasse (8th district) and 21 Müllnergasse (9th district), which were all destroyed in 1938. He built further synagogues in various historicist styles in Budweis (Budějovice), Lundenburg (Břeclav), Krems and Nikolsburg (Mikulov). By using Gothic elements, Fleischer highlighted how synagogues had equal value to churches as well as the integration of Judaism into civil society.

Source: 1903, “Bautechniker”, p. 756
Photo © public domain